rotten

rotten — adjective

1. describes food, wood, or other organic matter that has broken down and is no lon

1.形容詞A2
釋義

describes food, wood, or other organic matter that has broken down and is no longer in good condition — for example, a piece of fruit that is soft, discoloured, and smells bad, or a fence post that has crumbled from moisture and age.

例句

Noor found a rotten apple at the bottom of the fruit bowl.

rotten + noun describing decayed food

The wooden fence had a rotten post that needed replacing.

rotten + noun describing decayed building material

同義詞
  • decayed

    more formal and general; describes any stage of decomposition

  • decomposed

    more technical, used in scientific contexts

  • putrid

    stronger, emphasises the foul smell of advanced decay

  • mouldy

    specifically describes food covered in fungus, not necessarily decayed throughout

反義詞
  • fresh

    for food that is recently picked or prepared

  • sound

    for wood or structures in good condition

文法句型

rotten + noun

be/get/go/turn + rotten

用法筆記

Attributive use (a rotten apple) is more common than predicative (the apple is rotten), though both are correct. Go rotten and turn rotten describe the process of decaying.

常見錯誤

❌I bought a rotten milk from the store
✅I bought rotten milk from the store' or 'The milk has gone rotten.
💡rotten describes the state of the milk, not a type of milk.

2. extremely poor in quality or very unpleasant — used to describe experiences, wea

2.形容詞B1
釋義

extremely poor in quality or very unpleasant — used to describe experiences, weather, behaviour, or the general state of things when they fall far below what is acceptable.

例句

Mira said the film was so rotten that she walked out after twenty minutes.

be + rotten describing poor quality

The hotel charged a lot for rotten service and a dirty room.

同義詞
  • terrible

    similar intensity, more common in both formal and informal contexts

  • awful

    equally informal and common; slightly less vivid than rotten

  • lousy

    informal, similar register, emphasises low quality

  • dreadful

    slightly more formal, similar level of intensity

反義詞

文法句型

rotten + noun

be + rotten

it is/was rotten of + person + to-infinitive

用法筆記

Stronger and more colourful than bad, but less intense than terrible. Common in informal conversation rather than formal writing. The pattern 'it was rotten of you/him/her to…' is used to criticise someone's behaviour.

常見錯誤

❌The food in that restaurant is rotten' (meaning the taste is bad).
✅The food in that restaurant is really bad/tasteless.
💡rotten for food quality is ambiguous; it usually means the food has decayed, not that it tastes bad.

3. physically unwell, often with a queasy, feverish, or generally weak feeling — us

3.形容詞B1
釋義

physically unwell, often with a queasy, feverish, or generally weak feeling — used when someone does not feel healthy enough to do their normal activities.

例句

Ada ate too much cake at the party and felt rotten afterwards.

feel + rotten after overindulging

Justin has been feeling rotten all morning with a sore throat.

同義詞
  • ill

    more formal and general; covers all types of sickness

  • sick

    common in American English; can also mean nauseous

  • unwell

    more polite and formal

  • terrible

    informal, similar register — 'I feel terrible'

反義詞
  • well

    in good health

  • fine

    feeling healthy and normal

文法句型

feel + rotten

look + rotten

用法筆記

Predicative only — you cannot say a rotten person to mean someone who is ill. The subject is always a person or animal. Distinguish from sense 2 (VERY BAD): 'I feel rotten' means unwell, whereas 'I feel rotten about it' (not covered here) means guilty.

常見錯誤

❌She is a rotten person today' (meaning she feels ill).
✅She feels rotten today.
💡rotten is only used predicatively (after feel/look) for illness, never attributively before a noun.

rotten — adverb