1
as in spoiled
having undergone organic breakdown
rotten, smelly meat that should have been thrown out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in evil
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable
played a rotten trick and then lied about it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unpleasant
not giving pleasure to the mind or senses
had a rotten time while on vacation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in horrible
extremely unsatisfactory
rotten housing conditions that no one should be forced to tolerate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in poor
of low quality
I can't do anything with these rotten tools
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rotten
This coordinated reaction suggests the hungry nematodes may be joining together to easily hitch a ride on larger animals such as insects that transport them to (not so) greener pastures with more rotten fruit to feast on, Perez said.
—
Kameryn Griesser, CNN Money, 5 June 2025
That means there will be 25.4 million more rotten teeth in the mouths of children and teenagers.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 30 May 2025
However, compost can start to smell like rotten eggs, ammonia, or worse if the composting process goes awry or the compost pile has become imbalanced in some way.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 May 2025
There are two types of repellents: Taste, which often contains capsaicin and requires the animal to take a nibble; and odor, which is sulfur-based and smells like rotten eggs.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rotten
Kameryn Griesser, CNN Money, 5 June 2025
That means there will be 25.4 million more rotten teeth in the mouths of children and teenagers.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 30 May 2025
However, compost can start to smell like rotten eggs, ammonia, or worse if the composting process goes awry or the compost pile has become imbalanced in some way.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 May 2025
There are two types of repellents: Taste, which often contains capsaicin and requires the animal to take a nibble; and odor, which is sulfur-based and smells like rotten eggs.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rotten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rotten
Adjective
-
In Twin Peaks, Deputy Chief Hawk and Sheriff Frank Truman—filling in for ailing brother Frank—work on following a lead phoned in by an ailing Log Lady, while Richard Horne, son of Audrey Horne and Cooper’s evil double, spiraling into depravity and addiction, kills a child in a hit-and-run.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
20 June 2025
-
Unfortunately, those lofty first-act ambitions give way to something much more formulaic, as Buzz joins forces with the usual ragtag bunch of misfits to battle the evil Emperor Zurg.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
20 June 2025
Adjective
-
Some of these vitamins have quality issues, like a fishy or unpleasant taste.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
25 June 2025
-
Diana, for example, when anything unpleasant was said in her presence, would slowly blink her eyes in an incredible act of denial.—
Rosemary Counter,
Time,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
To be able to say that so many writers have been meaningful to you is not a horrible thing.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
-
If Flagg develops into the human triple double who leads the team to the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals in his first six years, the trade can be called not a horrible deal.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
The key drivers are BGE’s soaring spending and profits and poor management by PJM Interconnection, the private entity that operates our electric grid.—
Emily Scarr,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
-
Despite having a poor 2024 season that saw the Pirates remove Bednar from the closer role, the right-hander is back to his dominant form.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
Though the organization had a history of taking action against (supposedly) immoral ministers, Kunstler had no direct evidence to prove this was the case with Rev. Hall.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
27 June 2025
-
His plan calls for demanding that messages not change more frequently than every four seconds, not include flashing lights and not include obscene, indecent or immoral content.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
Just recently the Wizards, whose only NBA championship was as the Bullets in 1979, had the second worst record this season only to miss out on the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes and slide to No.6 in the upcoming draft.—
Tristan Lavalette,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
-
Overall, the recent western drought was at its worst in late 2021, when nearly 94% of the West was in drought, before easing in 2023-24.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
Adjective
-
Rarely great, and consistently cringey in that NHL way we’re used to by now, but rarely terrible.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
-
Even the ones that aren’t strictly evil in the biblical sense are often prone to doing terrible things.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
These Golden Hour Savings deals bring these loafers’ price tag down to as low as $52, which is much cheaper than most leather (or vegan leather) loafers.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
26 June 2025
-
Introductory pricing: Spectrum’s most affordable plan is much cheaper than AT&T's, at$30 a month compared to AT&T’s $55 a month for 100 and 300 Mbps download speeds,respectively.—
Kara McGinley,
USA Today,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rotten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rotten. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share