rotten

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective very bad
  2. adjective damaged by decay; hence unsound and useless
  3. adjective having decayed or disintegrated; usually implies foulness

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).

In classic literature

Synonyms

icky, crappy, lousy, shitty, stinking, stinky

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