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

rancidity

ran-ˈsi-də-tē 

noun

rancidness

ˈran(t)-səd-nəs 

noun

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.”

Synonyms

• disgusting
• ugly
• sickening
• awful
• horrible
• hideous
• obscene
• shocking
• offensive
• obnoxious
• dreadful
• nasty

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

Nuts Nuts contain even more of those healthy fats than grains, and storing your pecans, almonds, cashews, or otherwise at room temperature can allow those fats to go rancid far faster than most of us can make it through the common 8- to 16-ounce bags. —Karla Walsh, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2025

The same nauseating stench of rancid bodies. —Seema Jilani august 29, Literary Hub, 29 Aug. 2025

Instead of being able to do that, he was put in a cell with no view of anything — forget the mountains — with rancid air and horrific people around him. —Caroline Blair, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025

Yet, instead of protesting in the streets condemning Hamas’ sadistic butchery and demanding the terror group release its hostages and leave the Gaza Strip so that the Palestinian people may crawl out from beneath its rancid thumb, the American left focuses its ire on Israel instead. —Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin rancidus, from rancēre to be rancid

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

rancid

adjective

ran·​cid ˈran(t)-səd 

: having a strong disagreeable smell or taste

rancid butter

rancidity

ran-ˈsid-ət-ē 

noun

Medical Definition

rancid

adjective

ran·​cid ˈran(t)-səd 

: having a rank smell or taste usually from chemical change or decomposition

rancid butter