Synonym Chooser

How is the word fetid distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of fetid are fusty, malodorous, musty, noisome, putrid, rank, and stinking. While all these words mean "bad-smelling," stinking and fetid suggest the foul or disgusting.

prisoners were held in stinking cells
the fetid odor of skunk cabbage

How are the words fusty and musty related as synonyms of fetid?

Both fusty and musty suggest lack of fresh air and sunlight, fusty also implying prolonged uncleanliness, musty stressing the effects of dampness, mildew, or age.

a fusty attic
the musty odor of a damp cellar

When would malodorous be a good substitute for fetid?

Although the words malodorous and fetid have much in common, malodorous may range from the unpleasant to the strongly offensive.

malodorous fertilizers

Where would noisome be a reasonable alternative to fetid?

The meanings of noisome and fetid largely overlap; however, noisome adds a suggestion of being harmful or unwholesome as well as offensive.

a stagnant, noisome sewer

When can putrid be used instead of fetid?

While the synonyms putrid and fetid are close in meaning, putrid implies particularly the sickening odor of decaying organic matter.

the putrid smell of rotting fish

When could rank be used to replace fetid?

In some situations, the words rank and fetid are roughly equivalent. However, rank suggests a strong unpleasant smell.

rank cigar smoke

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 fetid The stumps of dead Joshua trees jutted from the fetid ground cover, while a few others, still alive, appeared anemic and were adorned in wispy strands of plastic debris and dust. Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2025 Not so happy are people trying to swim around the stuff or breathing in the fetid aroma of drying mounds of sargassum. Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 9 May 2025 That is now as pathetic to me as a fetid caveman’s toolmaking would be to a great thinker like da Vinci or even Edgar Allen Poe. Graham Techler, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2025 Only one of them has a fetish for the fetid stink of porta potties, but the other one has their weird kinks too. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fetid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fetid
Adjective
  • This is about a team with a top-10 payroll whose GM committed too stinking much of it to dogs that can’t, or won’t, pull the sled.
    Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2019
  • Muttaiah said the man inside the stinking manhole was working without any safety equipment — no gloves, no shoes, no supplemental oxygen.
    Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2019
Adjective
  • For its part, the NFL says those markets are ripe for monetary distortion or manipulation.
    Contessa Brewer,Alex Sherman, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2025
  • From these experiences, Austen must have concluded that throwing together a play was a ripe scenario for generating drama and tension between a close set of characters in her fiction.
    Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Midsummer is usually when sargassum, the floating seaweed that often washes up in malodorous piles on Florida beaches, starts to wane.
    Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Callery pear and Bradford pear trees are considered malodorous, according to the Spruce, a home and garden site.
    Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • Jessica Post, who lives near Auburn and was sitting near the right field foul pole with her sister, Deanna Ritter of Roseville, was happy the A’s had put the flags to half-staff.
    Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Then second baseman Máximo Acosta chased down the ball in foul territory and threw wildly past third.
    Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Avoid adding smelly meats, fruit rinds or other sweet-smelling food scraps to your compost.
    Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Once cool, pour it into a spray bottle and lightly mist the smelly surfaces.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • This behavior is disgusting and they should be fired.
    Zach LaChance, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
  • And yet … those conversations are also entertainingly provocative, and they’re accompanied by some of the scariest and most disgusting scenes the series has delivered up to now.
    Noel Murray, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Or find a less filthy campmate.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Away from a filthy Superdome and Convention Center where they had been holed up for days.
    Suzette Hackney, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • An alkaline compound, baking soda is a non-toxic cleaner with a coarseness that works wonders for scrubbing grime, removing difficult stains, and deodorizing stinky odors.
    Lauren David, Southern Living, 9 Sep. 2025
  • This $8 set comes with four zippered pouches that can separate dirty, wet, or stinky shoes from the rest of your belongings.
    Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fetid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fetid. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on fetid

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