malodorous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of malodorous
Explanation
You can use the adjective malodorous as a nicer way to say that something's stinky. Maybe you think your feet smell like roses, but if people move far away when your shoes come off, your rosy feet are probably malodorous. Mal- is used to form words for bad things, and in this case, mal-odor-ous means having a bad odor. Synonyms for malodorous include "smelly," "rank," and "funky" — but not funky in a "get on with your bad self" good way, just funky bad. If you walk into a malodorous room, you might start checking the bottoms of your shoes to see if you stepped in something, and if a plate of malodorous food is served, you might cover your nose and mouth.
Vocabulary lists containing malodorous
Take the Bad with the Good: Bene and Mal
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The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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Something Smells: From "Malodorous" to "Mephitic" to "It Reeks!"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Now, the malodorous mess has led to legal squawking between the town and two of its residents.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
Times editorial board members and Opinion columnists Melissa Davis and Josh Farley made a malodorous examination of what happens to King County’s recyclables.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024
Beyond carbon dioxide, its atmosphere is, unlike Earth's, filled with churning yellow clouds composed of malodorous sulfuric acid.
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2023
Beside us, a semi-tractor roared to life, its poorly maintained engine temporarily blotting out the sun with a cloud of malodorous black smoke.
From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2022
“I have been in the most malodorous surroundings imaginable and feel the need to be thoroughly scrubbed.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
