stench
Americannoun
-
an offensive smell or odor; stink.
-
a foul quality.
noun
Synonym Usage
See odor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of stench
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English stenc “odor (good or bad)”; akin to stink
Explanation
When you pass a dump, you might hold your nose and say, "Oh, I can't handle the stench." A stench is a bad smell. Stench can also be used metaphorically. If it is discovered that many members of a police force have been taking money from mob bosses so that they can continue their life of crime, a new chief may be brought in to remove the stench of corruption from the office. In either sense, stench is the kind of smell that takes work to get rid of.
Vocabulary lists containing stench
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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Inside Out & Back Again
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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.
But he’s also puckish – sylph-like and otherworldly, seductive and repellent, as likely to swaddle Sarah in her heart’s desire as he is to toss her into the belching, farting Bog of Eternal Stench.
From Salon • Jan. 24, 2026
Stench was a word deliberately chosen, calibrated to the perceived danger of the moment, studiously oblivious to whether it would antagonize colleagues.
From Washington Post • Dec. 3, 2021
Mary Roach, a science writer, is one of the few humans who’s tried inhaling Stench Soup.
From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2020
Is Stench Soup really the worst smell in the world?
From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2020
But now you have done with whitening the Sepulchres of Ireland, give me leave to shew you honestly, and without Flattery, the Dirt and Stench, the Corruption and Rottenness that lurks within.
From A Dialogue Between Dean Swift and Tho. Prior, Esq. In the Isles of St. Patrick's Church, Dublin, On that Memorable Day, October 9th, 1753 by Anonymous
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.
