stinker

noun

stink·​er ˈstiŋ-kər 

1

a

: an offensive or contemptible person

b

: one that stinks

c

: something of very poor quality

also : dud sense 2a

the movie is a stinker

2

: any of several large petrels that have an offensive odor

3

slang : something extremely difficult

the examination was a real stinker

Synonyms

• bastard
• jerk
• dog
• clown
• skunk
• joker

Examples of stinker in a Sentence

He is a dirty little stinker.

a real stinker of a performance

Recent Examples on the Web

None come close to reaching the heights of Wan’s vision, but there are a few gems and a few real stinkers in the bunch. —Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025

The only stinker in the bunch was Tennessee’s blowout of Syracuse, which drew just 2.6 million viewers opposite Texas-Ohio State. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Granted, May's stinker and certainly Tibbs' minor league effort were both overshadowed Wednesday by a much more important bit of Red Sox news with Boston locking in franchise cornerstone Roman Anthony to a long-term contract extension. —Mike Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025

Except for a few stinkers, Pixar has rarely made a truly bad movie. —Barry Levitt, Time, 26 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for stinker

• clinker
• drinker
• linker
• pinker
• sinker
• thinker
• tinker
• freethinker