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Synonyms

stench

American  
[stench] / stɛntʃ /

noun

  1. an offensive smell or odor; stink.

  2. a foul quality.

stench British  
/ stɛntʃ /

noun

  1. a strong and extremely offensive odour; stink

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See odor.

Other Word Forms

  • stenchful adjective

Etymology

Origin of stench

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English stenc “odor (good or bad)”; akin to stink

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Neighbors complained for years about the stench and constant barking.

From Los Angeles Times

Nicha Rowson, a beautician who has been forced to move her studio out of her home because of the stench, said the decision to clear up the site was "amazing news".

From BBC

We charged them, thrusting hands, arms, legs, even heads, under the streams of water, washing away the stench of the boxcars.

From Literature

There was the stifling stench of smoke all about us.

From Literature

The stench wafted up from the darkness, stinging his nostrils.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.