miasma

miasma: \ mī-ˈaz-mə  , mē- \
plural miasmas also miasmata\ mī-​ˈaz-​mə-​tə  , mē-​ \. a vaporous exhalation formerly believed to cause disease. also : a heavy vaporous emanation or atmosphere. a miasma of tobacco smoke
2: an influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt. 

Context: "All of this makes for an interesting story, but also a somewhat suffocation one, with an air as sour as the unhealthy miasma that hangs about the queenly bed." Anne the Unreal, by Ross Douthat, National Review, Feb. 11,2019. p 47

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