adjective
fetid
FET-id/ˈfetɪd/
Having an extremely unpleasant smell.
A fetid smell rises from the garbage behind the restaurant.
Etymology
Latin fetidus meant “stinking,” from fetere, “to have a bad smell,” so the unpleasant odor is central to the word’s history. A deeper connection with words for dung or smoke is only conjectural.
In context
The residue is like a distillation of animal tissue, grey and dark, with an overpoweringly fetid odour.
More examples
- The basement fills with fetid air after the sewer backs up.
- She holds her nose as she empties the fetid trash.
- The ditch is full of fetid water.
Forms
fetid