cesspool
Underground sewage tank
A cesspool is a pit or tank for collecting sewage or waste.
The word extends naturally to anything foul or corrupt: a cesspool of crime, a cesspool of misinformation.
The figurative use emphasizes moral filth and concentrated corruption: Social media can be a cesspool.
Soft, wet ground
- morassSwampy, confusing situation
- pitFruit's hard seed
- sinkholeUnderground collapse crater
- abyssImmeasurably profound depth
swamp · mire · bog · hellhole · dump · rathole · slum · gutter
Liquid refuse in drains
- wastewaterContaminated drainage from buildings
- effluentDischarged liquid waste
- sludgeSemi-solid waste material
- drainfieldWastewater absorption area
blackwater · greywater · seepage · drainage · outflow · privy · latrine · sanitation
Organic breakdown process
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- putrefactionBacterial breakdown of tissue
- stagnantWithout movement or progress
- festeringBecoming infected, decaying
moldering · spoilage · deterioration · degradation · slime · scum · sludge · muck
Powerfully offensive odor
- putridDecomposed and foul-smelling
- fetidHaving foul odor
- foulOffensive or illegal
- malodorousHaving a bad smell
rank · noisome · squalid · filthy · unsanitary · polluted · toxic · contaminated
quagmire
Soft, wet ground
abyss · swamp · mire · bog · hellhole · dump · rathole · slum · gutter · dregs
sewage
Liquid refuse in drains
- wastewaterContaminated drainage from buildings
- effluentDischarged liquid waste
- sludgeSemi-solid waste material
drainfield · blackwater · greywater · seepage · drainage · outflow · privy · latrine · sanitation · soakaway
rot
Organic breakdown process
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- putrefactionBacterial breakdown of tissue
- stagnantWithout movement or progress
festering · moldering · spoilage · deterioration · degradation · slime · scum · sludge · muck · ooze
stench
Powerfully offensive odor
malodorous · rank · noisome · squalid · filthy · unsanitary · polluted · toxic · contaminated · tainted
den
Private room or lair
- hotbedPlace fostering rapid growth
- breeding-groundPlace where reproduction occurs
- nexusConnecting central point
epicenter · bribery · graft · sleaze · nepotism · cronyism · scandal · vice · depravity · iniquity
- sanitationsewage, sewers, cleaning, sewer, disinfecting
- filthdirt, grime, dirty, filthy, muck
- historical sanitationchamber pot, latrine, outhouse, privy, sewer
- sanitation systemsseptic tank, septic system, sewage system, sewer, drain
- Victorian povertyworkhouse, poorhouse, tenement, slum, hovel
- hellholeshellhole, dungeons, dungeon, dump, dumps
cesspoolspring
Recoiling metal spiral
freshwater spring · mountain spring · clean water · pure water · oasis
cesspoolsewage treatment plant