Synonym Chooser

How is the word fetid distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of fetid are fusty, malodorous, musty, noisome, putrid, rank, and stinking. While all these words mean "bad-smelling," stinking and fetid suggest the foul or disgusting.

prisoners were held in stinking cells
the fetid odor of skunk cabbage

How are the words fusty and musty related as synonyms of fetid?

Both fusty and musty suggest lack of fresh air and sunlight, fusty also implying prolonged uncleanliness, musty stressing the effects of dampness, mildew, or age.

a fusty attic
the musty odor of a damp cellar

When would malodorous be a good substitute for fetid?

Although the words malodorous and fetid have much in common, malodorous may range from the unpleasant to the strongly offensive.

malodorous fertilizers

Where would noisome be a reasonable alternative to fetid?

The meanings of noisome and fetid largely overlap; however, noisome adds a suggestion of being harmful or unwholesome as well as offensive.

a stagnant, noisome sewer

When can putrid be used instead of fetid?

While the synonyms putrid and fetid are close in meaning, putrid implies particularly the sickening odor of decaying organic matter.

the putrid smell of rotting fish

When could rank be used to replace fetid?

In some situations, the words rank and fetid are roughly equivalent. However, rank suggests a strong unpleasant smell.

rank cigar smoke

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fetid The most impressive aspect of Schlesinger’s film is its sense of place: the sunny, awesomely relaxed, fetid warmth captured by Conrad Hall’s sumptuous cinematography. Armond White, National Review, 31 Jan. 2025 Fascinating and fetid, the Salton Sea in southern California lures me back, every year. Dennis Hinkamp, The Denver Post, 5 Feb. 2025 Only one of them has a fetish for the fetid stink of porta potties, but the other one has their weird kinks too. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2025 His writing included warnings to distinguish between leeches: good (round and shiny) and bad (black or blue in color and found near fetid water). Megan Cassidy-Welch, CNN, 24 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fetid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fetid
Adjective
  • This is about a team with a top-10 payroll whose GM committed too stinking much of it to dogs that can’t, or won’t, pull the sled.
    Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2019
  • Muttaiah said the man inside the stinking manhole was working without any safety equipment — no gloves, no shoes, no supplemental oxygen.
    Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2019
Adjective
  • The table above suggests that the conditions are ripe for another price crash, albeit perhaps a fender-bender.
    Michael Lynch, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Once ripe, they can be consumed in various dishes, like salads and guacamole, or on their own.
    Elizabeth Barnes, Verywell Health, 8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Public stations were expensive to maintain and quickly became dirty and malodorous.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Come for Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, sweaty and malodorous and razor-sharp; stay for some of the best-structured storytelling on television.
    Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Verdugo had one more at-bat, closing out the bottom of the eighth inning with a foul pop out off another reliever, Cole Sands.
    Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Apr. 2025
  • The Pistons foul at one of the highest rates in the league, and both Brunson and Towns will get their share of points from the floor and foul line.
    Jay Ginsbach, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Usually, a smelly refrigerator is caused by specific foods inside it and how they're stored.
    Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Before, the engine room was a noisy, smelly space below deck.
    Chun-Lien Su, IEEE Spectrum, 29 July 2019
Adjective
  • These were disgusting, irresponsible comments by someone who is charged with overseeing public health for hundreds of millions of people.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Do not tell the patient disgusting hospital stories about your own operations or procedures.
    Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Aurangzeb imprisoned his ailing father in 1658 and defeated his brother the year after, before forcibly parading him in chains on a filthy elephant on the streets of Delhi.
    Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The network has ordered Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service, which will see the celebrity chef go undercover to rescue America’s filthiest restaurants.
    Peter White, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • To question the sincerity of the president’s rhetoric—and that of his party—is not to dismiss the challenge posed by the various noisome currents of antidemocratic sentiment and behavior running through our politics like the effluence of overflowing sewers.
    Gerard Baker, WSJ, 7 Nov. 2022
  • Performers like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, who long ago bartered their integrity and believability for money and ratings, can peddle their noisome pro-Trump propaganda on Fox News.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2022

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Cite this Entry

“Fetid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fetid. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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