1
Core quality
Having an unpleasant, offensive, or foul smell.
Example
A malodorous gas escaped from the container.
malodorous
/mælˈəʊdərəs/ · mal-OH-dur-usadjective
Having an unpleasant, offensive, or foul smell.
Use malodorous to express this relationship precisely: having an unpleasant, offensive, or foul smell.
What malodorous Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
Workers removed the malodorous waste.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The flower attracts flies by producing a malodorous scent.
Use malodorous Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
A malodorous gas escaped from the container.
Workers removed the malodorous waste.
The flower attracts flies by producing a malodorous scent.
Precision Matters
Malodorous overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
malodorous
vs.Means having an unpleasant, offensive, or foul smell.
palpable
Means so noticeable that it seems capable of being felt.
malodorous
vs.Means having an unpleasant, offensive, or foul smell.
innocuous
Means harmless or unlikely to cause offence or damage.
malodorous
vs.Means having an unpleasant, offensive, or foul smell.
mellifluous
Means pleasantly smooth, rich, and musical to hear.
malodorous
vs.Means having an unpleasant, offensive, or foul smell.
acoustic
Means relating to sound, hearing, or the way sound behaves in a space or material.
Test malodorous in Context
The fumes have a distinctly unpleasant smell.
1
Residents traced the ___ fumes to decaying material near the drain.