Synonyms of stinking

stinking 1 of 3

adjective

ˈstiŋ-kiŋ 

1

as in smelly

having an unpleasant smell

came home from their trip to find stinking garbage that had been left in the kitchen

Synonyms & Similar Words

• smelly
• stinky
• ripe
• foul
• disgusting
• filthy
• fetid
• rotting
• reeking
• malodorous
• rotted
• strong
• rotten
• noisome
• dirty
• musty
• funky
• fusty
• frowsy
• rank
• putrid
• reeky
• frowsty
• stenchy
• rancid
• bad
• vile
• nasty
• revolting
• stale
• spoiled
• repulsive
• decaying
• spoiling
• decayed
• offensive
• noxious
• decomposing
• decomposed
• odorous
• skunky
• odoriferous
• odiferous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sweet
• fragrant
• aromatic
• scented
• perfumed
• redolent
• savory
• ambrosial
• spicy
• flowery
• woodsy
• fruity

2

as in drunk

slang being under the influence of alcohol

warned her husband not to come home stinking—or he'd be sleeping on the couch

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drunk
• drunken
• wet
• fried
• wasted
• blind
• impaired
• bombed
• plastered
• gassed
• loaded
• lit
• ripped
• stewed
• boozy
• pickled
• besotted
• under the influence
• crocked
• smashed
• blasted
• inebriated
• sloshed
• tipsy
• stiff
• intoxicated
• high
• tight
• inebriate
• stoned
• looped
• soused
• under the weather
• three sheets in the wind
• tiddly
• potted
• hammered
• sottish
• lit up
• blotto
• sozzled
• wiped out
• alcoholic
• tanked
• blitzed
• juiced
• cockeyed
• canned
• oiled
• squiffed
• pie-eyed
• in the bag
• crapulous
• maudlin
• beery
• in one's cups
• dopey
• debauched
• rocky
• dissolute
• befuddled
• strung out
• stupefied
• bleary-eyed
• dissipated
• dipsomaniacal
• bibulous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straight
• dry
• sober
• temperate
• cool
• level
• steady
• abstemious
• abstinent
• teetotal
• clearheaded

stinking

2 of 3

adverb

as in damn

to a great degree

a huge, showy house that screams, "We're stinking rich!"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• damn
• damned
• extremely
• very
• terribly
• incredibly
• too
• highly
• badly
• so
• desperately
• really
• severely
• jolly
• super
• seriously
• full
• far
• most
• much
• intensely
• real
• wildly
• mighty
• that
• especially
• heavily
• awful
• such
• greatly
• awfully
• wicked
• exceptionally
• fiercely
• sore
• extra
• absolutely
• good and
• particularly
• passing
• filthy
• fabulously
• roaring
• exceedingly
• fantastically
• rattling
• deadly
• bone
• cracking
• monstrous
• supremely
• beastly
• frightfully
• totally
• way
• dang
• thumping
• immensely
• specially
• utterly
• mortally
• achingly
• hugely
• eminently
• vitally
• completely
• thoroughly
• uncommonly
• sorely
• remarkably
• whacking
• spanking
• a lot
• positively
• enormously
• deeply
• blisteringly
• roaringly
• surpassingly
• vastly
• almighty
• archly
• entirely
• majorly
• ever
• corking
• mightily
• colossally
• right
• downright
• unco
• wholly
• significantly
• as all get-out
• visibly
• noticeably
• fully
• considerably
• profoundly
• radically
• obviously
• substantially
• purely
• flat-out
• notably
• extensively
• palpably
• altogether
• markedly
• obscenely
• plainly
• excessively
• plentifully
• abundantly
• monstrously
• appreciably
• astonishingly
• amazingly
• astronomically
• monumentally
• discernibly
• grandly
• staggeringly
• overmuch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• little
• somewhat
• slightly
• nominally
• just
• negligibly
• barely
• hardly
• scarcely
• marginally
• minimally
• scantily
• meagerly

stinking

3 of 3

verb

present participle of stink

1

as in reeking

to give off an extremely unpleasant smell

the dog stinks because she tangled with a skunk again

Synonyms & Similar Words

• reeking
• smelling
• rotting
• decomposing
• decaying
• savoring
• exhaling
• disgusting
• spoiling
• offending
• revolting
• repulsing

2

as in sucking

to be objectionable or unsatisfactory

their team really stinks this year

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sucking
• biting
• smelling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ruling
• rocking

Synonym Chooser

How is the word stinking distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of stinking are fetid, fusty, malodorous, musty, noisome, putrid, and rank. While all these words mean "bad-smelling," stinking and fetid suggest the foul or disgusting.

prisoners were held in stinking cells

the fetid odor of skunk cabbage

How are the words fusty and musty related as synonyms of stinking?

Both fusty and musty suggest lack of fresh air and sunlight, fusty also implying prolonged uncleanliness, musty stressing the effects of dampness, mildew, or age.

a fusty attic

the musty odor of a damp cellar

Where would malodorous be a reasonable alternative to stinking?

The words malodorous and stinking are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, malodorous may range from the unpleasant to the strongly offensive.

malodorous fertilizers

When might noisome be a better fit than stinking?

Although the words noisome and stinking have much in common, noisome adds a suggestion of being harmful or unwholesome as well as offensive.

a stagnant, noisome sewer

When is it sensible to use putrid instead of stinking?

The synonyms putrid and stinking are sometimes interchangeable, but putrid implies particularly the sickening odor of decaying organic matter.

the putrid smell of rotting fish

When is rank a more appropriate choice than stinking?

In some situations, the words rank and stinking are roughly equivalent. However, rank suggests a strong unpleasant smell.

rank cigar smoke

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of stinking

Adjective

America’s political landscape has become a stinking mess. —Mary Ellen Klas, Boston Herald, 1 June 2026

America’s political landscape has become a stinking mess. —Mary Ellen Klas, Mercury News, 26 May 2026

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. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026

Their solution to a stinking run was, comically, to rely on less than 23 per cent of possession and pick Madrid off with a classy volley from Martin Satriano, below. —Phil Hay, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026

This is about a team with a top-10 payroll whose GM committed too stinking much of it to dogs that can’t, or won’t, pull the sled. —Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2019

Muttaiah said the man inside the stinking manhole was working without any safety equipment — no gloves, no shoes, no supplemental oxygen. —Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2019

GothamGetty Images Aren't expectant parents Jenna Dewan and Steve Kazee just so stinking cute? —Emily Dixon, Marie Claire, 3 Dec. 2019

Second, the Huskies covered the spread as the favorite one stinking time? —Mike Anthony, courant.com, 29 Aug. 2019

Verb

And not some stinking Bradford pears. —Steve Bender, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2026

While the paramedics tried to decide whether to walk around or step over the stinking trash, a neighborhood’s shock began to bloat. —Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026

Nix can sling it with Sam Darnold all stinking day. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 27 Jan. 2026

Free yourself from those stinking shackles! —The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Jan. 2026

The carpets were absolutely stinking of wet cheesy dog. —Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025

The defense already looks tired of the offense stinking. —Zac Jackson, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

But who cares about stinking elections? —Jackie Calmes, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2025