1
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
4
5

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 Getting two different movie studios (20th Century Fox and Sony) to agree soon became a moot point, thanks to a bit of rotten luck. Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 28 June 2025 The smell won’t be as sweet, maybe a little rotten. Jessica Farthing, Southern Living, 21 June 2025 In two particularly egregious examples involving baby products described to CNBC, Amazon sent customers used diapers and a chiller with someone else’s rotten breastmilk inside. Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 21 June 2025 On scorching days when winds blow across the California desert, the Salton Sea regularly gives off a stench of decay resembling rotten eggs. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for rotten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rotten
Adjective
  • As Wednesday processes this, the evil one-eyed crow shows up and flies off with her evidence in its beak.
    Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2025
  • An avatar for good and an embodiment of evil sit face-to-face, locked in an eternal clash of wills.
    Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Once again, America confronts the unpleasant truth that the Constitution does not expressly guarantee a right to vote — and neither will the Supreme Court.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
  • These can be unpleasant enough to lead some women to quit them, according to research.
    Katia Riddle, NPR, 11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Soroka is a combined 3-18 with a 4.81 ERA the last two seasons with the White Sox and Nationals, two horrible teams.
    Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Xenomorphs in their various forms show up early and semi-often, along with several new beasts with their own deliciously horrible ways of killing.
    Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Additionally, over-saturating with water is a poor choice for these floors.
    Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Specifically, poor capital allocation decisions have destroyed significant value.
    Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Rudy flames out on his first day, though, and ends up working for a shady lawyer named Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) and her gleefully immoral paralegal Deck (P.J. Byrne).
    Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Others argue the bombings were militarily unnecessary, inherently immoral, and primarily designed to flex American power.
    David Cavell, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Not bad for a company built on the back of a $40 plastic-cased watch!
    Oren Hartov, Robb Report, 15 Aug. 2025
  • This is all made much, much worse by the fact that Claire’s parents end up time-travelling . . .
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Whether your team is in the middle of a winning run or mired in terrible form, five minutes looking at the standings can convince you that a hundred different futures are possible.
    Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2025
  • While the latter is known for its legendarily terrible English localization, both of these were highly innovative horizontal scrolling shmups for their time.
    Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The new numbers suggest that slowing rent increases and cheaper gas are offsetting some impacts of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Yet 80% of charging happens not at public plazas but in garages, where electricity is cheap and parking is certain.
    Carlos Georgescu, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rotten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rotten. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on rotten

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!