fetor means an unpleasant smell. It carries an Arena rating of 1393, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, fetor ranks #862 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #1,009 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,054 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #3,473 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
fetor is pronounced /ˈfiː.tə/.
Why “fetor” is a great word
A profoundly unpleasant and offensive stench, from Latin fētor ("stench, foul odor"), from fētēre ("to stink"), first attested in English in the late 15th century. Unlike "odor," a neutral vessel for any scent, or "aroma," a word perfumed with pleasant association, "fetor" is unambiguously foul. It is the dense, sweet rot of forgotten meat, the acrid tang of a backed-up drain, and the animal reek of a neglected cage—a sensory testament to decay's inevitable and ungentle work.
Etymology
From Latin fētor.
noun
- An unpleasant smell.e.g.“Heʼd thrown rancid meat in a fire to fill the woods with the ripe fetor of death.” — 2021, Rivers Solomon, Sorrowland, #Merky Books, page 39:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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