rancid

[ran-sid]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rancid ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having a rank, unpleasant, stale smell or taste, as through decomposition, especially of fats or oils: rancid butter.

(of an odor or taste) rank, unpleasant, and stale: a rancid smell.

offensive or nasty; disagreeable.

Nearby words

Origin of rancid

1640–50; < Latin rancidus rank, stinking, equivalent to ranc(ēre) to be rotten + -idus -id⁴

Related formsran·cid·ly, adverbran·cid·ness, ran·cid·i·ty, nounun·ran·cid, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for rancid

You know the cartoon segment that used to be in colour in rancid old newspapers?
The Rancid Ballad of Johnny Rotten: His Memoir Seethes With Anger—And Charm|Legs McNeil|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The workers had to use oxygen tanks to combat the rancid smell of death in temperatures that topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Italy: Migrants Dying en Masse|Barbie Latza Nadeau|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No, this rancid bill of goods is also being by peddled by Fox News personalities.
The Right’s Dangerous Rhetoric: Obama as an ‘Enemy Combatant’|Dean Obeidallah|February 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I will be happy if events prove me too pessimistic, but the political atmosphere in Washington is rancid.
This Isn’t Obama’s Malaise, It’s GOP Intransigence|Robert Shrum|May 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST

A rancid fat is one in which have been developed compounds of an odoriferous nature.
Soap-Making Manual|E. G. Thomssen
Good butter is pale yellow, uniform throughout the whole mass, and free from rancid taste or odor.
Science in the Kitchen.|Mrs. E. E. Kellogg
She was very dirty and smelt abominably of some kind of rancid oil.
Moran of the Lady Letty|Frank Norris
While the boys hesitated, choking with the rancid and stifling odors about them, they saw the figure turn its head with an effort.
On the Edge of the Arctic|Harry Lincoln Sayler
It was made with rancid fat, bad water, and boiled in the sea-brine.
Flora Lyndsay|Susanna Moodie

British Dictionary definitions for rancid

rancid

adjective

(of butter, bacon, etc) having an unpleasant stale taste or smell as the result of decomposition

(of a taste or smell) rank or sour; stale

Derived Formsrancidity (rænˈsɪdɪtɪ) or rancidness, noun

Word Origin for rancid

C17: from Latin rancidus rank, from rancēre to stink

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 rancid

rancid

adj.

1640s, from Latin rancidus "rank, stinking, offensive" (also source of Italian rancido, Spanish rancio), from rancere "be spoiled or rotten," of unknown origin. German ranzig is from French rancide. Related: Rancidness.

Medicine definitions for rancid

rancid

[răn′sĭd]

adj.

Having the disagreeable odor or taste of decomposing oils or fats.

rancid

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of rancid

Examples from the Web for rancid

rancid

adjective

Word Origin for rancid

rancid

rancid

adj.