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rotten

 - 4 dictionary results

rot⋅ten

[rot-n]
–adjective, -er, -est.
1. decomposing or decaying; putrid; tainted, foul, or bad-smelling.
2. corrupt or morally offensive.
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.
5. (of soil, rocks, etc.) soft, yielding, or friable as the result of decomposition.
6. Australian Slang. drunk.

Origin:
1175–1225; ME roten < ON rotinn, ptp. of an unrecorded verb meaning “to rot”


rot⋅ten⋅ly, adverb
rot⋅ten⋅ness, noun


1. fetid, rank. 2. immoral. 4. disgusting, unwholesome; treacherous.


1. sound. 2. moral.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To rotten
rot·ten   (rŏt'n)   
adj.   rot·ten·er, rot·ten·est
  1. Being in a state of putrefaction or decay; decomposed.

  2. Having a foul odor resulting from or suggestive of decay; putrid.

  3. Made weak or unsound by rot: rotten floorboards.

  4. Morally corrupt or despicable: She's rotten to the core.

  5. Very bad; wretched: rotten weather.

adv.  To a very great degree: The child is spoiled rotten.

[Middle English roten, from Old Norse rotinn.]
rot'ten·ly adv., rot'ten·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
rotten

  1. mod.
    smelly; disgusting. (Not slang.) : What is that rotten smell?
  2. mod.
    alcohol intoxicated. (From sense 1. See also putrid.) : It takes a case of beer to get Wilbur rotten.
  3. mod.
    poor or bad. (From sense 1.) : We have nothing but one rotten problem after another.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

rotten 
c.1225, from O.N. rotinn "decayed," pp. of verb related to rotna "to decay," from P.Gmc. stem *rut- (see rot). Sense of "corrupt" is from c.1380; weakened sense of "bad" first recorded 1881. Rotter "objectionable person" is recorded from 1894. Rotten apple is from a saying traced back to at least 1528: For one rotten apple lytell and lytell putrifieth an whole heape.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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