Miasma

//miˈæzmə// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A noxious atmosphere or emanation once thought to originate from swamps and waste, and to cause disease.

    "There was an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma, which came through the fouler air."

  2. 2
    unhealthy vapors rising from the ground or other sources wordnet
  3. 3
    A noxious atmosphere or influence, an ominous environment. figuratively

    "It was into this lossy compression miasma that aptX was born."

  4. 4
    an unwholesome atmosphere wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
afterdampbad breathbad smellblackdampbobody odor

Example

More examples

"A clove cigarette miasma made navigating the pub like swimming underwater."

Etymology

First attested in 1665. From Ancient Greek μίασμα (míasma, “stain; pollution”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.