miasma

American  

[mahy-az-muh, mee-] / maɪˈæz mə, mi- /

noun

plural

miasmas, miasmata

1. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere.

2. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.

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miasma British  

/ mɪˈæzmə, ˌmiːəzˈmætɪk /

noun

1. an unwholesome or oppressive atmosphere

2. pollution in the atmosphere, esp noxious vapours from decomposing organic matter

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Other Word Forms

• miasmal adjective
• miasmatic adjective
• miasmatical adjective
• miasmic adjective
• unmiasmal adjective
• unmiasmatic adjective
• unmiasmatical adjective
• unmiasmic adjective

Etymology

Origin of miasma

1655–65; < New Latin < Greek míasma stain, pollution, akin to miaínein to pollute, stain

Example Sentences

Take, for example, Kennedy’s staunch rejection of germ theory in favor of “miasma theory.”

From Salon

The harvest of that change was an inaugural meeting of the new panel that was enveloped in a miasma of confused, uninformed debate.

From Los Angeles Times

Few writers since Henry James can create an atmosphere of doubt around events and character as effectively as this author does, and in “Venetian Vespers” the miasma thickens at every turn.

From The Wall Street Journal

Above all, we experience a pervasive miasma of helplessness as we are forced to watch this intolerable train wreck.

From Salon

In such a milieu, Hine’s troubling 1908 photographs would easily disappear, perhaps seizing a moment but soon evaporating into the visual miasma that floods the zone daily.

From Los Angeles Times