miasmas

Noun

miasma (plural miasmas or miasmata)

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.1897, Bram Stoker, “Jonathan Harker’s Journal”, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC, chapter XIX, page 276
2. (figuratively) A noxious atmosphere or influence, an ominous environment.
   • In 1883, the contract came up for renewal, the L.N.W.R. received it, and the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was set aside. But there was a certain miasma of secrecy about the affair, so that many, especially in Ireland, looked for information and insisted on getting it.1960 May, K. A. Murray, “Carlisle Pier, Dun Laoghaire”, in Railway Magazine, page 305