rotten

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adjective rot·ten \ ˈrä-tᵊn \

Definition of rotten

1 :having rotted :putrid

2 :morally corrupt

3 :extremely unpleasant or inferior

a rotten day

a rotten job

4 :very uncomfortable

feeling rotten

5 :of very poor quality :lousy, abominable

a rotten show

what rotten luck

—

rottenly

adverb

—

rottenness

play \-tᵊn-(n)əs\ noun

See rotten defined for English-language learners

See rotten defined for kids

Examples of rotten in a Sentence

They did a rotten job.
What rotten weather we're having.

Recent Examples of rotten from the Web

From the looks of it, the standards are not high for the people there, either. Peeling paint, rotten wood and rusty metal abound at the rest of the facilities.

— vic ryckaert, Indianapolis Star, "IMPD's horse barn is 'embarrassing,' caretaker group says," 28 Aug. 2017
Unfortunately, by the time Alistair made it down South, the hand had already become rotten, essentially proving nothing.

— bernadette deron, Harper's BAZAAR, "So, How Exactly Will Jon Snow Capture a White Walker?," 18 Aug. 2017
The officers said the apartment smelled like rotten milk when the door opened, the release says.

— kaylee remington, cleveland.com, "Mother facing charges after children found living in dirty Lorain home, police say," 26 July 2017
My farts stink like something mixed between a rotten egg and an incineration plant.

— laura beck, Cosmopolitan, "This Woman's Story About Farting in a Yoga Class Will Make You Laugh Till You Cry," 23 July 2017
The find was in fact not a big fat rotten cow but a stegomastodon, an ancient, primitive mammal that lived an estimated 1.2 million years ago.

— sarah gibbens, National Geographic, "Boy Found Million-Year-Old Fossil by Tripping Over It," 19 July 2017
Officers found rotten food, jugs containing what was presumed to be urine, syringes and about 30 yards of trash.

— cathy locke, sacbee, "A room for sleeping, one for eating. This homeless camp was inside a highway bridge," 12 July 2017
As rotten as the system was, the Revolutionaries represented something far worse.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "The Assault on History Continues with Donald Trump: Renaissance Pope," 10 July 2017
Tour goers will meet owner Mark Fritch, who recently dry fitted a replacement corner for his cabin where there used to be rotten walls.

— janet eastman, OregonLive.com, "Saving old, handmade cabins, one log at a time: Mount Hood Steiner Cabin Tour (photos)," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rotten.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of rotten

Middle English roten, from Old Norse rotinn; akin to Old English rotian to rot

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First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

rotten Synonyms

Synonyms

addled, bad, corrupted, decayed, decomposed, putrefied, putrid, spoiled

Antonyms

undecomposed

Related Words

curdled, fermented, off, rancid, rank, sour, soured, sourish, turned; contaminated, defiled, fouled, impure, polluted, tainted; corroded, crumbled, degenerated, deteriorated, disintegrated; decaying, decomposing, disintegrating, mildewy, moldering, moldy, putrefying, putrescent, rotting; gangrenous

Near Antonyms

fresh, good, sweet; preserved, pristine, uncontaminated, undefiled, unpolluted, unspoiled, untainted, untouched

Other Biology Terms

autochthonous, fecund, homunculus, phylogeny, substrate

rotten

adverb

Definition of rotten

:to an extreme degree

spoiled rotten

See rotten defined for English-language learners

Examples of rotten in a Sentence

Those kids were spoiled rotten by their mother.

First Known Use of rotten

1880

ROTTEN Defined for English Language Learners

rotten

play

adjective

Definition of rotten for English Language Learners

: having rotted or decayed and no longer able to be used, eaten, etc.
: very bad or unpleasant
: not well or healthy

rotten

adverb

Definition of rotten for English Language Learners

: very badly or poorly
: very much

ROTTEN Defined for Kids

rotten

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adjective rot·ten \ ˈrä-tᵊn \

Definition of rotten for Students

1 :having rotted

rotten wood

2 :morally bad

3 :of poor quality

They did a rotten job.

4 :very unpleasant

… being a teenager is pretty rotten—between pimples and worrying about how you smell!
—Judy Blume, Are You There God?

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See words that rhyme with rotten Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for rotten Spanish Central: Translation of rotten Nglish: Translation of rotten for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of rotten for Arabic speakers

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rotten

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ROTTEN Defined for English Language Learners

rotten

Definition of rotten for English Language Learners

rotten

Definition of rotten for English Language Learners

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rotten

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