rotted 1 of 2

rotted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of rot

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 rotted
Adjective
Inspect fences and perform any repairs or maintenance, such as reinforcing posts or replacing rotted sections. — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026 Many grapes become too rotted and are left to wither away. — John Mariani, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Verb
So much of it has degraded—tapes rotted to spooky fuzz, videos with shaggy images and too‑white faces. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 By this point the food in her fridge rotted and her basement flooded. — Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026 In the process, Ownbey discovered support timbers had rotted away, forcing him to bring entire walls to his workshop for meticulous reconstruction. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 19 Aug. 2026 The missing 14-year-old’s body rotted for weeks until it was found in the trunk of a Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard last September, severed at the limbs and stuffed into black plastic bags, according to medical examiner’s records and court filings. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026 While the timber has long since rotted away, the posts lined up to point directly at the rising sun during the summer solstice and the setting sun at the winter solstice — in the same way as Stonehenge. — Elmira Aliieva, NBC news, 18 June 2026 Now the pages are yellowed; the rubber band rotted away years ago. — Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 31 May 2026 That last line is a nod for the brain-rotted among us. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2026 Conley could’ve rotted away in Chicago. — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rotted
Adjective
  • In 2022, a man's decayed body was found stuffed into a metal barrel.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The soil should be moist, faintly acid smelling, from its infusion of decayed compost.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Hubbard's release follows the return of American Robert Gilman, who was freed from Russian custody in August after his health deteriorated to a life-threatening condition.
    — Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Jones said the potential consequences for policyholders could be severe if an insurer’s financial position deteriorated enough to stop it from meeting its obligations.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Sealed inside the crust, the wood slowly decomposed, leaving hollow molds.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Most of the remains were severely decomposed, but investigators believed Montgomery had been dead for less than a day when he was found.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Zhang and his colleagues theorize that this reaction might help plants avoid pathogens, similar to the way unpleasant smells help animals steer clear of rotten food.
    — Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Sometimes your potatoes will be not be super clean with little sprouts and little rotten bits that need to be cut off.
    — Andy Baraghani, Bon Appetit Magazine, 6 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The company crumbled after John Carreyrou, then a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, broke the story in 2015 that Theranos wasn’t using its own technology to run most of its blood tests.
    — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In the southwestern town of Limoges, the city hall’s 19th-century bell tower crumbled under a mass of flames.
    — Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The faction that had a chokehold on the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) roster for quite some time completely disintegrated in recent weeks leading to all four male members getting into a match for Mustafa Ali’s TNA International Championship.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • After 14 years of exploration, the Galileo spacecraft intentionally fell into Jupiter and disintegrated in the planet's dense atmosphere.
    — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Liberal critics, however, argued—also rightly—that the Soviet Union was a decaying, economically crippled giant by the time Reagan was inaugurated.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The district also could be in for other major changes in the coming years, including the opening of a few new schools to replace multiple decaying, underenrolled schools.
    — Scott Travis, Miami Herald, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • Dozens of federal agents descended on Omar Alexander Muñoz's residential cul-de-sac in Commerce, a small city in Los Angeles County, to make the arrest.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Advertisement Within minutes, the festival grounds descended into chaos.
    — Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Rotted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rotted. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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