I. rot ‧ ten 1 /ˈrɒtn $ ˈrɑːtn/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old Norse ; Origin: rotinn ]
1 . badly decayed and no longer good to use:
the smell of rotten eggs
Some of the wood was completely rotten.
The apples went rotten very quickly.
2 . informal very bad SYN terrible :
What rotten luck!
a rotten idea
The service was rotten.
He’s a rotten driver.
3 . informal if someone is rotten, they are unpleasant, unkind, or dishonest:
Why are you being so rotten?
a rotten little brat
4 . feel rotten
a) to feel ill
b) to feel unhappy and guilty about something:
I felt rotten about lying to him.
5 . [only before noun] spoken used when you are angry:
I don’t want your rotten money!
6 . rotten to the core extremely dishonest:
The whole government is rotten to the core.
7 . a rotten apple one bad person who has a bad effect on all the others in a group
—rottenness noun [uncountable]
II. rotten 2 BrE AmE adverb informal
1 . spoil somebody rotten to treat someone too well or too kindly, especially a child, so that they think they should always have what they want:
He was the favorite, and his mother spoiled him rotten.
2 . fancy somebody rotten British English to be extremely attracted to someone in a sexual way – used humorously