rotten
Americanadjective
-
decomposing or decaying; putrid; tainted, foul, or bad-smelling.
- Antonyms:
- sound
-
corrupt or morally offensive.
- Synonyms:
- immoral
- Antonyms:
- moral
-
wretchedly bad, unpleasant, or unsatisfactory; miserable.
a rotten piece of work; a rotten day at the office.
-
contemptible; despicable.
a rotten little liar; a rotten trick.
- Synonyms:
- treacherous, unwholesome, disgusting
-
(of soil, rocks, etc.) soft, yielding, or friable as the result of decomposition.
-
Australian Slang. drunk.
adjective
-
affected with rot; decomposing, decaying, or putrid
-
breaking up, esp through age or hard use; disintegrating
rotten ironwork
-
morally despicable or corrupt
-
untrustworthy, disloyal, or treacherous
-
informal unpleasant, unfortunate, or nasty
rotten luck
rotten weather
-
informal unsatisfactory or poor
rotten workmanship
-
informal miserably unwell
-
informal distressed, uncomfortable, and embarrassed
I felt rotten when I told him to go
-
(of rocks, soils, etc) soft and crumbling, esp as a result of weathering
-
slang intoxicated; drunk
adverb
Other Word Forms
- half-rotten adjective
- rottenly adverb
- rottenness noun
- unrotten adjective
Etymology
Origin of rotten
1175–1225; Middle English roten < Old Norse rotinn, past participle of an unrecorded verb meaning “to rot”
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.
“No one would land if they could smell that!” said Nim, and wondered if Alex Rover’s hero would use a rotten shark to fight for his island.
From Literature
He gave the Witch a rotten tomato in a bag he traded for bellyache medicine.
From Literature
Her name felt like biting into something sour and rotten.
From Literature
She held the flattened sandwich bag by two fingers, as if it were something rotten.
From Literature
Sure, it’s easy to loathe New England fans, who are spoiled rotten after six Super Bowls, and need another trophy in the way a cat needs sunglasses.
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.
