effluvium
Noxious gaseous emission
Effluvium is a noxious or unpleasant smell or discharge—the kind that emanates from decaying matter, industrial processes, or bodily waste.
The word has a clinical, slightly literary quality that makes it useful when describing something foul without being crude: the effluvium of the swamp, urban effluvium rising from the sewer grates.
Plural: effluvia.
Powerfully offensive odor
- reekEmit strong odor
- foulnessOffensive, corrupt quality
- malodorUnpleasant, offensive smell
- miasmaHarmful atmospheric emanation
fetor · smell · pungency · noxious · fumes · funk · mustiness · rankness
Supposed supernatural exudate
- miasmaHarmful atmospheric emanation
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- phantasmIllusory supernatural appearance
séance · medium · haunting · manifestation · wraith · spirit · ghostly · supernatural
Breathing out air
- vaporGaseous form of liquid
- dischargeRelease of substance outward
- outflowFluid exiting a system
- exudationFluid seeping out
emanation · evaporation · exhaust · outgassing · secretion · seepage · diffusion · venting
Bacterial breakdown of tissue
- rotOrganic breakdown process
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- putrescenceState of decomposing
- carrionPutrefying animal remains
cadaverous · moldering · festering · rotting · spoilage · necrosis · corruption · gangrene
stench
Powerfully offensive odor
miasma · fetor · smell · pungency · noxious · fumes · funk · mustiness · rankness · putrid
ectoplasm
Supposed supernatural exudate
- miasmaHarmful atmospheric emanation
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
phantasm · séance · medium · haunting · manifestation · wraith · spirit · ghostly · supernatural · spectral
exhalation
Breathing out air
exudation · emanation · evaporation · exhaust · outgassing · secretion · seepage · diffusion · venting · expulsion
putrefaction
Bacterial breakdown of tissue
- rotOrganic breakdown process
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- putrescenceState of decomposing
carrion · cadaverous · moldering · festering · rotting · spoilage · necrosis · corruption · gangrene · charnel
sewage
Liquid refuse in drains
slurry · sludge · detritus · dross · ordure · muck · bilge · cesspool · swill · runoff
- telogen effluviumStress-induced temporary hair shedding