Rotten Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms rotten American [rot-n] / ˈrɒt n /

adjective

rottener, rottenest

1. decomposing or decaying; putrid; tainted, foul, or bad-smelling.

   Synonyms: rank, fetid Antonyms: sound

2. corrupt or morally offensive.

   Synonyms: immoral Antonyms: moral

3. wretchedly bad, unpleasant, or unsatisfactory; miserable.

   a rotten piece of work; a rotten day at the office.

4. contemptible; despicable.

   a rotten little liar; a rotten trick.

   Synonyms: treacherous, unwholesome, disgusting

5. (of soil, rocks, etc.) soft, yielding, or friable as the result of decomposition.

6. Australian Slang. drunk.

rotten British / ˈrɒtən /

adjective

1. affected with rot; decomposing, decaying, or putrid

2. breaking up, esp through age or hard use; disintegrating

   rotten ironwork

3. morally despicable or corrupt

4. untrustworthy, disloyal, or treacherous

5. informal unpleasant, unfortunate, or nasty

   rotten luck

   rotten weather

6. informal unsatisfactory or poor

   rotten workmanship

7. informal miserably unwell

8. informal distressed, uncomfortable, and embarrassed

   I felt rotten when I told him to go

9. (of rocks, soils, etc) soft and crumbling, esp as a result of weathering

10. slang intoxicated; drunk

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

1. extremely; very much

   men fancy her rotten

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• half-rotten adjective
• rottenly adverb
• rottenness noun
• unrotten adjective

Etymology

Origin of rotten

1175–1225; Middle English roten < Old Norse rotinn, past participle of an unrecorded verb meaning “to rot”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Next, recognize some of the annoying parts of your job are out of your control—like a rotten boss—and stop fighting against it.

From Barron's

He learned to patch up injured men in below-deck sea cabins, where gangrene turned a wound black and rotten.

From The Wall Street Journal

“You knowhow we sometimes get an egg good and rotten so it makes a big stink?”

From Literature

“But they go rotten very quickly once you pick them, so people make them into wine, or jam. I’ve never had them fresh.”

From Literature

Under President Xi Jinping, an anti-corruption crackdown has swept through Chinese football in recent years, exposing the rotten state of the professional game.

From Barron's

Related Words

• corrupt
• disgusting
• moldy
• noxious
• overripe
• putrid
• rancid
• rotting
• sour
• spoiled
• stale

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.