Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Rotten for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Rotten" — adjective, pronounced /ˈrɒtən/, with the stress on "rot".
Narrator: Rotten means decayed, spoiling or no longer fresh.
Narrator: In plain English, a rotten apple is brown and mouldy — past its best.
Narrator: It comes from the verb rot, from the Old English rotian, meaning to decay, plus en.
Narrator: "A rotten apple" describes a fruit that has decayed from the inside.
Narrator: It differs from spoilt because rotten specifically means decayed, whereas spoilt can mean ruined.
Narrator: "A rotten day" is a figurative sense meaning a very bad day.
Narrator: Food, health, weather and everyday speech all rely on the word rotten.
Narrator: So remember: rotten means decayed, from the Old English for to decay.
Speaker A: What does rotten mean?
Speaker B: Decayed! ROTTEN comes from the verb rot, from the Old English rotian, to decay, so it means spoiling or no longer fresh.
Speaker A: So a rotten apple is mouldy?
Speaker B: Yes — brown and horrible!
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "A rotten apple"; "a rotten day"; "smell rotten" — food, mood and smell.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Don't confuse rotten with rodent, because rotten means decayed, while rodent is an animal.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: 'Spoiled' the ruined cousin, 'decayed' the formal twin, 'mouldy' the fungus alternative. The word keeps its whiffy charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "rotten" in AI prompts — useful for food-safety apps and everyday tools.
Speaker A: So a prompt could frame food safety?
Speaker B: Right. For a food app, you'd write:
Prompt: Write a short guide on spotting rotten fruit, naming two signs.
Speaker A: How about a wellbeing tool?
Speaker B: Ask the model to advise:
Prompt: Draft a tip on handling a rotten day, naming two coping strategies.
Speaker A: Could it help with a composting bot?
Speaker B: Yes, you can frame decay:
Prompt: Summarise in two sentences how rotten food becomes compost, naming one stage.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: For a household chatbot, try this:
Prompt: Write a short checklist for fridge freshness, naming two items to check.
Rotten — meaning in Arabic & definition More R courses GL Dictionary