Rottenness

Rottenness
Rotten Rot"ten, a. [Icel. rotinn; akin to Sw. rutten, Dan. radden. See {Rot}.] Having rotted; putrid; decayed; as, a rotten apple; rotten meat. Hence: (a) Offensive to the smell; fetid; disgusting. [1913 Webster]

You common cry of curs! whose breath I hate As reek of the rotten fens. --Shak. [1913 Webster] (b) Not firm or trusty; unsound; defective; treacherous; unsafe; as, a rotten plank, bone, stone. ``The deepness of the rotten way.'' --Knolles. [1913 Webster]

{Rotten borough}. See under {Borough}.

{Rotten stone} (Min.), a soft stone, called also Tripoli (from the country from which it was formerly brought), used in all sorts of finer grinding and polishing in the arts, and for cleaning metallic substances. The name is also given to other friable siliceous stones applied to like uses. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Putrefied; decayed; carious; defective; unsound; corrupt; deceitful; treacherous. [1913 Webster] -- {Rot"ten*ly}, adv. -- {Rot"ten*ness}, n. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • rottenness — is spelt with two ns …   Modern English usage

  • rottenness — rotten ► ADJECTIVE 1) suffering from decay. 2) corrupt. 3) informal very bad or unpleasant. ► ADVERB informal ▪ very much: your mother spoiled you rotten. DERIVATIVES rottenness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • rottenness — noun see rotten I …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • rottenness — See rottenly. * * * …   Universalium

  • rottenness — noun The quality of being rotten …   Wiktionary

  • rottenness — (Roget s Thesaurus II) noun The condition of being decayed: breakdown, decay, decomposition, deterioration, disintegration, putrefaction, putrescence, putridness, rot, spoilage. See BETTER, THRIVE …   English dictionary for students

  • rottenness — rot·ten·ness || rÉ‘tnɪs / rÉ’t n. decay, state of being spoiled, state of putrefaction, state of decomposition …   English contemporary dictionary

  • rottenness — rot·ten·ness …   English syllables

  • rottenness — noun 1. in a state of progressive putrefaction • Syn: ↑putrescence, ↑putridness, ↑corruption • Derivationally related forms: ↑rotten, ↑putrid (for: ↑putridness), ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • þreax — ? ( ?/ ?) rottenness, rubbish, refuse; [ON þrekkr] …   Old to modern English dictionary

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