fetid

or foet·id

[ fet-id, fee-tid ]

adjective

1. having an offensive odor; stinking.

   Synonyms: noisome, smelly, malodorous

fetid

/ ˈfɛtɪd; ˈfiː- /

adjective

1. having a stale nauseating smell, as of decay

Derived Forms

• ˈfetidness, noun
• ˈfetidly, adverb

Other Words From

• fetid·ly adverb
• fetid·ness fe·tidi·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fetid¹

1590–1600; < Latin fētidus, equivalent to fēt- (stem of fētēre to stink) + -idus -id ⁴

Word History and Origins

Origin of fetid¹

C16: from Latin fētidus , from fētēre to stink; related to fūmus smoke

Example Sentences

Pawpaws' maroon flowers and fetid odor suggest that flies and beetles are the plant's primary pollinators.

From Salon

By the end of the movie Swayze’s "cooler" has stopped a JCPenney department store from ruining the town’s all-American tanginess, or whatever, and heads off to spruce up some other fetid swill hole.

From Salon

It is all too easy to find yourself submerged in fetid water, or sucked into a slurry of thick, black mud.

From National Geographic

The park also built a larger sun canopy for the giraffe and dredged out garbage and fetid water from a pool that took up much of the enclosure.

From Seattle Times

And a good thing too, since in Paul’s own estimation, Barton boys are, with rare exception, a hopeless bunch of “philistines,” “reprobates,” “troglodytes,” “degenerates,” “hormonal vulgarians,” “fetid layabouts” and “snarling Visigoths.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• noxious
• putrid
• revolting
• smelly
• stinking
• stinky