i-adjective
warm and stuffy (from fever); hot and close
Describes the warm, stale, or stuffy air or smell associated with a sick person's fever. Often used for a room or breath that feels unpleasantly warm and close.
病人の部屋は熱臭くて、窓を開けたくなった。
The sick person's room was warm and stuffy, and I wanted to open the window.
熱臭い息がかかって気持ち
His feverish breath felt unpleasant against me.
Compound of 熱 (netsu, 'fever, heat') and 臭い (kusai, 'smelly, stinking'), literally 'fever-smelling'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word likely arose to describe the distinctive warm, stale odor associated with a sickroom.