rotten

The word “rotten” means decayed and spoiled, especially of food. In plain terms, decayed, or (informally) morally bad or just plain unpleasant.

“Rotten” is pronounced ROTN (/ˈɹɑtn̩/ in IPA).

Here is “rotten” used in a sentence: “The fridge smelled of rotten eggs.”

Words with a similar meaning to “rotten” include bad, gone bad, gone off, maggoted and spoiled.

The opposite of “rotten” — its antonyms — are edible, fresh and unspoiled.

“Rotten” is an adjective.

The word “rotten” comes from Old English. From Old Norse rotinn, "decayed," related to Old English rotian — the same root behind the verb "rot.".

“Rotten” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Rotten food is decayed and spoiled through decomposition, usually showing visible signs like mold, discoloration, or a foul smell. Spoiled is a broader term that can also cover food that has simply gone stale or lost freshness without full decay, so all rotten food is spoiled, but not all spoiled food is rotten.

Yes, describing a person as rotten means they are morally bad, cruel, or dishonest, so it functions as a strong criticism of their character. It is informal and typically used in casual speech rather than formal writing.

In informal speech, rotten is often used to describe something very unpleasant or of poor quality, as in a rotten day or rotten luck, without any connection to actual decay. This figurative use is common in everyday conversation across English-speaking countries.