2
: morally corrupt
3
: extremely unpleasant or inferior
a rotten day
a rotten job
4
: very uncomfortable
feeling rotten
5
: of very poor quality : lousy, abominable
a rotten show
what rotten luck
rottenly
adverb
: to an extreme degree
spoiled rotten
Synonyms
Examples of rotten in a Sentence
Adjective
They did a rotten job.
What rotten weather we're having.
Adverb
Those kids were spoiled rotten by their mother.
Recent Examples on the Web
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
Despite Babb’s rotten luck, as Cerf put it, the editor’s snub wasn’t the defining element of her life and career.
—Mark Athitakis, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2024
Chris Bryant | Bloomberg, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2019
See all Example Sentences for rotten 
Adjective
Buried in a bland mixed-use skyscraper in the dreary Financial District downtown, an aging, if glamorous, 1929 movie palace with rotten acoustics long served as the San Diego Symphony’s disagreeable home.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
Despite Babb’s rotten luck, as Cerf put it, the editor’s snub wasn’t the defining element of her life and career.
—Mark Athitakis, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2024
Adverb
If underlings are afraid to question authority or the board lack independent voices, a corporate culture can soon turn rotten.
—Chris Bryant | Bloomberg, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2019
See all Example Sentences for rotten
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rotten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near rotten
Cite this Entry
“Rotten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rotten. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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