Bad
Bad adjective - Falling short of a standard.
Usage example: a bad first attempt at making meat loaf resulted in a soggy, inedible mess
Rotten is a synonym for bad in quality topic. In some cases you can use "Rotten" instead an adjective "Bad", when it comes to topics like better, decayed, cheesy, crummy. informal substitute
Rotten
Rotten adjective - Having undergone organic breakdown.
Usage example: rotten, smelly meat that should have been thrown out
Bad is a synonym for rotten in decaying topic. You can use "Bad" instead an adjective "Rotten", if it concerns topics such as quality, better, corrupt, unpleasant. popular alternative
Nearby Words: rottenness, rottenly
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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Once upon a time when things were rotten, Not just food, but also kings were rotten, Everybody kicked the peasants, Things were bad and that ain't good, Then came Robin Hood!
Source: Series / When Things Were Rotten - Distinct from the Corrupt Church in that instead of being a legitimate religion that went bad, the Path of Inspiration is by design rotten to the core.
Source: Path of Inspiration - This comic has a variation, with Rotten Tomatoes reviews instead of good and bad news.
Source: Good News, Bad News
Cite this Source
Rotten and Bad. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/bad/rotten
Bad & Rotten. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/bad/rotten>.
Rotten or Bad. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/bad/rotten.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "bad" and "rotten" have occurred on timeline