mephitic

adjective

me·​phit·​ic mə-ˈfi-tik How to pronounce mephitic (audio)
: of, relating to, or resembling mephitis : foul-smelling
mephitic vapors

Examples of mephitic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web You’re attacked by a giant wolf, pugilist mushrooms, mephitic swamps, and a sword-wielding spider. Simon Parkin, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2022 Gradually, however, in the 1980s, Duplin’s pastoral idyll becomes a mephitic dead zone, thanks to the nightmarish business scheme of an ambitious hog farmer named Wendell H. Murphy. Jeff Calder, ajc, 3 June 2022 These moments of reckoning—in which something that once felt exciting begins to seem noxious, mephitic, dangerous—are important to heed. Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mephitic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mephitic was circa 1623

Dictionary Entries Near mephitic

Cite this Entry

“Mephitic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mephitic. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

mephitic

adjective
me·​phit·​ic mə-ˈfit-ik How to pronounce mephitic (audio)
: having a foul odor
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