- present participle of stink.
stinking
Americanadjective
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having a foul smell
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informal unpleasant or disgusting
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slang (postpositive) very drunk
adverb
Other Word Forms
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.
Stafford Hopkins is good-looking, brilliant, successful and stinking rich.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 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
Miss Sarah—in between worried glances at Miss Rose, who was now being carried on a stretcher—told us that the iron monsters had wrecked the Thicket, and the Drowned Forest was a stinking, swampy mess.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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