rotten

A rotten thing smells bad and is spoiled. Imagine leaving food outside for too long – it starts to smell bad and gets all mushy.

The word "rotten" can be used to describe things that have gone wrong or become unpleasant over time. When you're talking about a place, like a neighborhood, you might say it's gotten rotten because of crime or neglect. People often use the word to describe food, too – if something has been left out for too long and now smells bad, it's probably rotten. But "rotten" can also be used in an emotional sense: if someone's feeling really down or bitter about a situation, you could say they're being rotten to others by treating them badly. It's not always a nice word, but it gets the point across that something is no longer good or healthy.