as in stinking
having an unpleasant smell
I would rather not be the one to wash your reeking gym clothes
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Recent Examples of reeking
Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 14 May 2026
And the smell is soft and pleasant, instead of reeking of alcohol.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
Following the opening verse with the characterization of his lady’s eyes, Shakespeare proceeded to give a rundown of her other features in less than flattering terms, including her lips (pale), hair (wiry), voice (grating) and breath (reeking).
—David McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
Once Catalina was asleep, Pedro tossed his backpack, reeking of the day’s clothes, into the bedroom.
—Literary Hub, 16 Jan. 2026
When he was lugged in Saugus in 2011, reeking of cheap domestic lager, he was first told to turn off the engine in his unmarked MSP Crown Vic.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Verb
Today, a checkerboard of subdivisions crosses east to west, and the remaining grasslands are buried each day under reeking asphalt and rolls of turfgrass.
—Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 14 May 2026
And the smell is soft and pleasant, instead of reeking of alcohol.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
Following the opening verse with the characterization of his lady’s eyes, Shakespeare proceeded to give a rundown of her other features in less than flattering terms, including her lips (pale), hair (wiry), voice (grating) and breath (reeking).
—David McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
Once Catalina was asleep, Pedro tossed his backpack, reeking of the day’s clothes, into the bedroom.
—Literary Hub, 16 Jan. 2026
When he was lugged in Saugus in 2011, reeking of cheap domestic lager, he was first told to turn off the engine in his unmarked MSP Crown Vic.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reeking
Adjective
-
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
Verb
-
Panish replayed for jurors testimony from Grossman’s daughter that, soon after the collision, Erickson arrived at the house smelling of alcohol.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
-
In the bathrooms there are fluffy robes, cool-white marble and delicious-smelling Memo Paris bath products (the luxury perfume house was co-founded by a Tipperary man and now has a store on rue Cambon in Paris opposite Chanel).—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
There are notes of vanilla, malted chocolate, ripe fruit, pear, oak, and caramel on the palate, with some lingering baking spice, citrus, and dark roast espresso on the finish.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
3 June 2026
-
The film unhurriedly lurches from one markedly similar fight scene to the next, with only Skeletor’s occasional injections of ripe innuendo to liven them up a bit.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
The bleak tortures Ohm concocts for his characters are as vile as the Bilberry’s fetid jacuzzi.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The evolutionary advantage of fetid roses was that their odor deterred animal herds that grazed in their habitat.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Be advised that only a small fraction of arums are malodorous.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
-
Alicia Sokolowski, president and co-CEO of Aspen Clean Tommy Patterson, director of new product development and technical training at Glass Doctor, a Neighborly company Deodorize Trash Cans Trash cans naturally can become quite malodorous over time.—
Alexandra Kelly,
Martha Stewart,
21 May 2026
Adjective
-
Freddie Freeman squeezed one inside the left-field foul pole in the first inning, his fourth home run in nine games (after hitting just one in the previous 35 games).—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
-
Manny Machado got the Padres back on top by yanking a home run down the left field line and off the foul pole in the fourth while King proceeded to mow down the Nationals with rare efficiency.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
After-dinner naps, family movie nights, greasy hands, and dirty pets can contribute to smelly odors, stains, pet hair, and crumbs and dirt that get stuck along the piping and between the couch cushions.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
28 May 2026
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Store smelly wood such as cedar or pine and petroleum products, including tar paper, paint, turpentine, kerosene, rubber and charcoal fluid.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
The president had complained about filthy water and a leaking foundation, according to previous USA TODAY reporting.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
And some of the best evidence of the lovebugs’ comeback came last week at the Turkey Lake Service Plaza on Florida’s Turnpike, where filthy, splattered cars and trucks queued up before the plaza’s automatic windshield washer.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reeking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reeking. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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