rotten
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.
See Examples For:
Boyle Heights was reaching a breaking point as a deadline passed to clean up 88 million pounds of rotten food from the burned-down warehouse and residents begged for relief from the horrifying stench.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The stench of rotten eggs and burning debris fills the air in Boxtown, a predominantly Black neighborhood in Memphis.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
The meat has been described as tasting like a cross between kipper and steak or "salty goose" and, less flatteringly, as "rotten leather and fishy beef", external.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Moldy, bruised and rotten fruits and vegetables should also be avoided.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Birds and squirrels mainly, but also rotten cats and dogs—pets that had wandered into the park looking for shelter when there was none left anywhere in Manhattan.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
This is an illness, a mania, but seems more like something a writer might envy, which feels even rottener than envy usually does, because Gould was a toothless madman who slept in the street.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 27, 2015
Back in England, he yanked some young offenders out of the regular prisons, moved them away from the older, rottener apples to a Kentish village called Borstal.
From Time Magazine Archive
The wooden bridge is more askew, rottener than I remember.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
"Well, they couldn't look rottener than what they do at present," Barnes put in.
From Sinister Street, vol. 2 by Compton MacKenzie
If there is one thing rottener than another in a pretty blighted world, one thing which gives a fellow the pip and reduces him to the condition of an absolute onion, it is hopeless love.
From The Adventures of Sally by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
Oliver’s efforts to save Manny require the kind of ruthless cunning he learned earlier from the rottenest of rotten cops.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2018
“He is very, very dead. The rottenest of the rotten. . . . But hey, we have his plays, so voilà.”
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 12, 2014
“The rottenest piece of land there is,” said Mick Elbert, a local car dealer who served on the golf association board.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2011
Made from the juiciest of rotten apples, the rottenest of juicy maggots, and bits of skin and rags that fell into the barrel.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 22, 2010
Her name is Sally Jackson and she’s the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Vocabulary lists containing rotten
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
So Bad: Synonyms for "Awful"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
