malodorous

[mal-oh-der-uh s]

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adjective

having an unpleasant or offensive odor; smelling bad: a malodorous swamp.

Origin of malodorous

First recorded in 1840–50; mal- + odorous

Related formsmal·o·dor·ous·ly, adverbmal·o·dor·ous·ness, noun

Can be confusedmalodorous odious odoriferous odorous smelly stinky

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for malodorous

bad, decayed, fetid, foul, frowzy, funky, gamy, high, infested, lousy, mephitic, musty, nasty, nauseating, noisome, noxious, off, offensive, poisonous, putrid

Examples from the Web for malodorous

Historical Examples of malodorous

He embraced his daughter, and then again Pierre, and kissed him with his malodorous mouth.
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
But what was Milton doing in this malodorous and noisy assembly?
Milton
Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh
He saw the squalid tract of her vice, miserable and malodorous.
Dubliners
James Joyce
It has become a byword among the people as a malodorous cesspool.
Chicago, Satan's Sanctum
L. O. Curon
He rose, went to the window, and cast forth the malodorous thing.
Stover at Yale
Owen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for malodorous

malodorous

adjective

having a bad smell

Derived Formsmalodorously, adverbmalodorousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for malodorous

adj.

1832, from mal- "bad" + odorous. Related: Malodorously; malodorousness.