stinking

[ sting-king ]

adjective

1. that smells foul; foul-smelling.

   Synonyms: miasmal, rank, 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

/ ˈstɪŋkɪŋ /

adjective

1. having a foul smell
2. informal.
   unpleasant or disgusting
3. slang.
   postpositive very drunk

adverb

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

   stinking rich

Derived Forms

• ˈstinkingly, adverb
• ˈstinkingness, noun

Other Words From

• stinking·ly adverb
• stinking·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stinking¹

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

Example Sentences

One ancient source described aspiring scribes as “stinking bulls.”

From Science News

And “stinking rich” is the smell of zero carbon emissions at eco-friendly tech company campuses.

From The Daily Beast

Now those are destroyed, too, and the animals are strewn about, bloating and stinking, as if in a tableau of “Guernica.”

From The Daily Beast

But the language about public schools and cricket bewildered audiences and Frank Rich gave it a stinking review.

From The Daily Beast

She goes on to dismiss “stinking romanticism” as sick, akin to “boils & blisters & warts.”

From The Daily Beast

And Alfonso goes, "Badges, we don't need no stinking badges" and starts shooting at them.

From The Daily Beast

If this stinking quartet takes it into its head to levy annual blackmail, where is the money coming from?

From Project Gutenberg

And I will water the earth with thy stinking blood upon the mountains, and the valleys shall be filled with thee.

From Project Gutenberg

Again, we will pass through stinking sewers, up to our elbows in putrid filth.

From Project Gutenberg

It makes me smile, Why, what a stinking smother will they utter!

From Project Gutenberg

Extract of stinking goose-foot; Extractum chenopodii, L. Prep.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fetid
• foul-smelling
• funky
• putrid