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
Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
Thousands of skeletal creatures were lying on bunks unable to move, while dead bodies were piled in heaps all around the camp, reeking of putrefaction.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reeking
Adjective
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Four plays, 76 yards, in 25 stinking seconds.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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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
Verb
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The woman’s husband, a scrawny man in a shabby work uniform, smelling of sewage, drooped behind the gurney.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
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The Drew Barrymore Show previously went viral for Drew Barrymore smelling her own feet.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Harvest those last zucchini, patty pans, and any ripe melons and bring them inside.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 Oct. 2025
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Elsewhere in the spacious garden, David got on his hands and knees to pull a freshly ripe red onion.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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All spoke about the inhumane conditions, from the fetid human waste to having to stand during the rain because there is nowhere to lie down.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
15 Sep. 2025
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This fetid flow — filled with both pathogens and toxic chemicals — stems from inadequate treatment near Tijuana, shuttering beaches and sickening Navy SEALs for years.—
Sharon Udasin,
The Hill,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Midsummer is usually when sargassum, the floating seaweed that often washes up in malodorous piles on Florida beaches, starts to wane.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Aug. 2025
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Callery pear and Bradford pear trees are considered malodorous, according to the Spruce, a home and garden site.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Davidson’s condition, which leads him to make foul-mouthed outbursts, was barely understood at the time and was the source of misunderstandings, bullying, and harassment.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
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Earning an Emmy and a SAG Ensemble Award for his early 2000s role in Fox’s Ally McBeal, MacNicol earned another Emmy nomination for his work as foul-mouthed New Hampshire political power player Jeff Kane on HBO’s Veep in 2019.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Walking deeper into a smelly cave along the Albania-Greece border, cavers shined their flashlights along the rock walls and illuminated a massive spider colony.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
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Take out the trash immediately after throwing away smelly items like diapers and leftovers from your seafood dinner.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Jackson Lamb has long, greasy hair and a pot belly over which hangs a filthy old trench coat.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
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On the other end, Ja’Marr Chase is coming off an absolutely filthy touchdown grab last Sunday.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reeking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reeking. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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