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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.

Not the good, high-altitude ozone that shields us from dangerous UV light, but bad ozone, hovering right above ground level — stinking, brownish, grayish photochemical smog.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 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

The now-shuttered Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, where part of the finale was set, is recalled by Pruitt as a dump with stinking carpet.

From Salon • Jun. 1, 2024

“Ziggy is so stinking cute. I see Mae taking him outside sometimes.”

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks

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.