adj
rotten
ROTN
adj
1
Decayed and spoiled, especially of food.
"The fridge smelled of rotten eggs."
"Half the fruit in the bowl had gone rotten."
2
Morally bad, cruel, or dishonest.
"That was a rotten thing to say to her."
3
Very unpleasant or of poor quality (informal).
"We had rotten luck with the weather all week."
How to Use Rotten
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDecayed, or (informally) morally bad or just plain unpleasant.
Common pairings
rotten luck
rotten to the core
rotten smell
Word Forms
rottener comparative, more rotten comparative, more rotten comparative, rottenest superlative, most rotten superlative, most rotten superlative
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Etymology
From Old Norse rotinn, "decayed," related to Old English rotian — the same root behind the verb "rot."