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
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
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
-
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
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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
Verb
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Old Herald clippings from 1986 reported about homeowners toilets and sinks smelling like gas, a 3-year-old getting rashes and fevers from drinking the well water and fear of driers exploding.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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If your laundry has started smelling less than fresh even after a cycle, a dirty machine drum could be the reason.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
However, clearly the conditions are ripe for at least a partial resumption of shipping traffic.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
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The show is really ripe for online discourse; did any of the reactions to the book surprise you?—
Seija Rankin,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Tired of the stale, fetid air looming over your apartment like a cloud?—
Brad Bourque,
Wired News,
31 Mar. 2026
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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
-
Gladwin iris or roast-beef plant (Iris foetidissima) has malodorous foliage when crushed.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
21 Mar. 2026
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However, these newer deodorants marketed as whole-body deodorants often do a good job at deodorizing the areas that create malodorous smells.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Shaw lined out to right field, Bregman popped out into foul territory and, after Ian Happ was intentionally walked, Seiya Suzuki also popped out in foul territory to end the game.—
Andy Martinez,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
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Playing first base, he was booed for dropping a foul pop-up, then made a catch on a similar ball.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This list will answer your questions about flying ones, venomous ones, really fast ones, and smelly ones.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
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The Apollo astronauts occasionally had to deal with smelly situations, including some fecal matter that escaped the waste bag and floated through the capsule during Apollo 10 in 1969.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Kilitch Healthcare had serious quality lapses, in which the facility was filthy, employees were barefoot on the manufacturing floor and the company fraudulently passed products that failed sterility tests.—
C. Michael White,
The Conversation,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Common areas are often filthy, and increasingly populated by drug users.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reeking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reeking. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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