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Synonyms

stinking

American  
[sting-king] / ˈstɪŋ kɪŋ /

adjective

  1. that smells foul; foul-smelling.

    Synonyms:
    rank, miasmal, foul, putrescent, rotten, putrid, smelly

  2. Slang. very drunk; plastered.

  3. Slang. very rich.

    His father left him so much money he's stinking.

  4. contemptible; disgusting.

    a stinking shame.

adverb

  1. completely or extremely.

    stinking drunk.
stinking British  
/ ˈstɪŋkɪŋ /

adjective

  1. having a foul smell

  2. informal unpleasant or disgusting

  3. slang (postpositive) very drunk

"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

adverb

  1. informal (intensifier, expressing contempt for the person referred to)

    stinking rich
"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

Other Word Forms

  • stinkingly adverb
  • stinkingness noun

Etymology

Origin of stinking

before 1000; Middle English stinkinge, Old English stincende. See stink, -ing 2

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.

Miles and miles of refineries and their stinking tailings ponds, adjacent to beach resorts that run on desalination plants.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

"We had a brand-new baby with bad lungs, and we wake up to a generator running above our heads and the absolutely stinking of petrol," says Laura.

From BBC • Dec. 12, 2025

A poisonous river of a stinking yellow liquid rushed downhill, inundating homes and fields, including the one where she grew corn to feed her eight children.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025

I share Vejar’s loathing for the relentless “tree of heaven,” the deciduous plant that is sometimes called a stinking sumac.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025

“I don’t know about you, but Papá here is stinking up the car. Seriously—he’s giving me a headache.”

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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.