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rotten

adjective

  1. gone bad, decayed
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈɹɒtn̩/ / /ˈɹɑtn̩/ / [ˈɹɑʔn̩]

adj

Etymology: From Middle English roten, from Old Norse rotinn (“decayed, rotten”), past participle of an unrecorded verb related to Old Norse rotna (“to rot”) and Old English rotian (“to rot”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rutāną (“to rot”). See rot. By surface analysis, rot + -en (past participle).

  1. Of perishable items, overridden with bacteria and other infectious agents.

    If you leave a bin unattended for a few weeks, the rubbish inside will turn rotten.

    Antonio: Mark you this, Bassanio, / The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. / An evil soul producing holy witness / Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, / A goodly apple rotten at the heart. / O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!

  2. In a state of decay.

    The floors were damaged and the walls were rotten.

    His mouth stank and his teeth were rotten.

  3. Cruel, mean or immoral.

    That man is a rotten father.

    This rotten policy will create more injustice in this country.

  4. Bad or terrible.

    Why is the weather always rotten in this city?

    It was a rotten idea to take the boat out today.

  5. Of stone or rock, crumbling or friable; in a loose or disintegrated state.

    The quartz specimens were sometimes blue, hard-looking stone, or rotten quartz largely impregnated with iron, in both cases carrying bright glittering nodules of gold.

  6. Very drunk, intoxicated.

adv

Etymology: From Middle English roten, from Old Norse rotinn (“decayed, rotten”), past participle of an unrecorded verb related to Old Norse rotna (“to rot”) and Old English rotian (“to rot”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rutāną (“to rot”). See rot. By surface analysis, rot + -en (past participle).

  1. To an extreme degree.

    That kid is spoilt rotten.

    The girls fancy him something rotten.

rotten — meaning, definition (adjective) · Vinony