rancid
adjective
ran·cid
ˈran(t)-səd 
1
: having an unpleasant smell or taste usually from chemical change or decomposition
rancid butter
rancid breath
2
: distinctly unpleasant or distasteful : offensive
a rancid sexual scandal
Without free speech, even in its most rancid forms, we may have nothing to choose at night but old movies and "Heeeeeeeere's Johnny!"—
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Did you know?
Rancid and putrid and fetid—oh my! While all three words are used to describe unpleasant smells and tastes, each also traces its roots to a “stinky” Latin word: rancid can be traced back to the Latin rancēre; the root of putrid shares an ancestor with putēre; and fetid comes from foetēre—all verbs meaning “to stink.” Not long after entering the language in the early 17th century, rancid also developed a second, figurative sense which is used for non-gustatory and non-olfactory offenses, as in “rancid hypocrisy.”
Examples of rancid in a Sentence
Some foods become rancid quickly.
an unscrupulous food vendor who's as rancid as the meat that he serves
Recent Examples on the Web
Fish supplements that contain omega-3s are prone to going rancid.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2022
Much of the damage was from flooding, which left a thick layer of rancid muck on her floors.
—Stephen Smith and Bobby Caina Calvan, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Oct. 2022
Jackson Lamb elevates the character’s filthy, rancid presentation to high art.
—Chicago Tribune Staff, Chicago Tribune, 30 Nov. 2022
For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have had to contend with mountainous sprawls of garbage bags piled curbside as early as 4 p.m., creating a rancid eyesore that assaults the senses and sensibility of all who pass.
—Jeffery C. Mays, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for rancid
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Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2022
Much of the damage was from flooding, which left a thick layer of rancid muck on her floors.
—Stephen Smith and Bobby Caina Calvan, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Oct. 2022
Jackson Lamb elevates the character’s filthy, rancid presentation to high art.
—Chicago Tribune Staff, Chicago Tribune, 30 Nov. 2022
For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have had to contend with mountainous sprawls of garbage bags piled curbside as early as 4 p.m., creating a rancid eyesore that assaults the senses and sensibility of all who pass.
—Jeffery C. Mays, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for rancid
Cite this Entry
“Rancid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rancid. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
rancid
adjective
ran·cid
ˈran(t)-səd
: having a rank smell or taste usually from chemical change or decomposition
rancid butter
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