rotten

rotten — 形容詞

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

1.形容詞A2
釋義

腐爛的

有機物分解變質，不可使用

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.

Noor 在水果碗底部發現了一顆腐爛的蘋果。

rotten + noun describing decayed food

The wooden fence had a rotten post that needed replacing.

木圍籬有一根腐爛的柱子需要更換。

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

糟糕的

品質極差或令人非常不愉快

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.

Mira 說那部電影太糟糕了，她二十分鐘後就走了出來。

be + rotten describing poor quality

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

那間旅館收費很高，服務卻很糟糕，房間也不乾淨。

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

不舒服的

身體不適，常伴噁心或虛弱感

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.

Ada 在派對上吃了太多蛋糕，後來覺得很不舒服。

feel + rotten after overindulging

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

Justin 整個早上都不舒服，喉嚨很痛。

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 — 副詞