Synonym Chooser

How is the word malodorous distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of malodorous are fetid, fusty, musty, noisome, putrid, rank, and stinking. While all these words mean "bad-smelling," malodorous may range from the unpleasant to the strongly offensive.

malodorous fertilizers

How do fusty and musty relate to one another, in the sense of malodorous?

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

In what contexts can noisome take the place of malodorous?

The synonyms noisome and malodorous are sometimes interchangeable, but noisome adds a suggestion of being harmful or unwholesome as well as offensive.

a stagnant, noisome sewer

When can putrid be used instead of malodorous?

The words putrid and malodorous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, putrid implies particularly the sickening odor of decaying organic matter.

the putrid smell of rotting fish

When would rank be a good substitute for malodorous?

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

rank cigar smoke

How are the words stinking and fetid related as synonyms of malodorous?

Both stinking and fetid suggest the foul or disgusting.

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

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 malodorous Its leaves release a malodorous smell when trod upon and so served as a strewing herb. Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 20 Apr. 2024 But, if this isn’t enough to drive away the predators, the malodorous animals play dead. Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 29 Mar. 2024 The canal still carries sewage, mixed with rainwater, away from the city on a malodorous, 29-mile course. Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024 Because each snail yielded little more than a drop of the discharge — a clear, malodorous liquid — some 250,000 were required to produce an ounce of dye, by some accounts. Franz Lidz, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 See All Example Sentences for malodorous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malodorous
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
  • Red flag warnings are issued by the National Weather Service when conditions are ripe for fires.
    JIM VERTUNO, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
  • There is a certain anime cast to his round face and thick eyelashes, which perhaps are ripe for infantilizing caricature.
    Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
Adjective
  • With one out and a runner on first, Alves read the ball and sprinted from his position at third base for a diving catch in foul territory for the second out.
    Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 25 Mar. 2025
  • The play occurred in the sixth inning when the ball was hit into foul territory.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • If your plant’s roots or stems are mushy and smelly, your plant may be affected by root rot.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Dec. 2024
  • Before Brummell, the aristocracy dressed in rich, smelly materials; after, styles were adapted from military uniforms—think of the broad shoulders of a British pinstripe suit, for example.
    Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Using that platform to engage in partisan attacks and accuse former Department leadership of weaponizing law enforcement is a disgusting betrayal of those values.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Continue reading … ‘PRO-CRIMINAL’ – Blue state sheriff unloads on 'disgusting' bill targeting the right to self-defense.
    Fox News, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Chicagoans will have no one to hold accountable at the ballot box when the buses don’t arrive and rail stations are filthy and crime-ridden.
    Forrest Claypool, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2025
  • The plastic waste China received was filthy, much of it too dirty to be cleaned, shredded, and turned into new plastic.
    Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 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

“Malodorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malodorous. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.

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