as in stinking
having an unpleasant smell
I would rather not be the one to wash your reeking gym clothes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reeking
Adjective
-
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
Verb
-
Deep in the forest, the air whips by cold and fast and smelling of redwoods.—
Nick Czap,
Robb Report,
26 Dec. 2024
-
Especially when that includes boarding a Christmastime caboose brimming with holiday decor, smelling hot cocoa wafting through the cars, and enjoying plenty of picturesque views.—
Perri Ormont Blumberg Fox News,
Fox News,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
If the leaf comes out with minimal resistance, the fruit is probably ripe.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
22 June 2025
-
This is a fruit ripe for picking and every investor, private-equity firm and sovereign wealth fund looking for a prize asset in the world’s most popular domestic football league has kicked the tyres at Spurs, taken the tour and run the numbers.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
22 June 2025
Adjective
-
Decades of despoiling water bodies have taken a terrible toll, filling water bodies with fetid algae that blocks sunlight and smothers the native seagrass beds that are a main food source for manatees.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 June 2025
-
The stumps of dead Joshua trees jutted from the fetid ground cover, while a few others, still alive, appeared anemic and were adorned in wispy strands of plastic debris and dust.—
Susanne Rust,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2025
Adjective
-
Rue was considered the most malodorous of all herbs, was even thought to keep away evil spirits, and was spread on church floors for this purpose.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
12 June 2025
-
Public stations were expensive to maintain and quickly became dirty and malodorous.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
By the time Wood, the former Padres prospect who went to Washington in 2022 in the trade for Juan Soto, hit a three-run homer that clanged off the right field foul pole in the eighth inning to put the almost-final touch on the Nationals’ 10-6 victory, there was no real overt reaction.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 June 2025
-
Your husband is foul for not calling out her garbage behavior.—
Virginia Chamlee,
People.com,
23 June 2025
Adjective
-
Banned in Europe In addition to being a carcinogen, formaldehyde, a colorless and smelly gas, can cause rashes and can sicken those who breathe it in, according to the FDA.—
Ronnie Cohen,
NPR,
8 May 2025
-
Usually, a smelly refrigerator is caused by specific foods inside it and how they're stored.—
Halee Miller Van Ryswyk,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The room was filthy, prescription bottles around the room, one bed with no sheets.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
27 June 2025
-
Photograph: Chris Null As anyone who’s ever stuck a cotton swab in there knows, your ear canal is a filthy, disgusting place.—
Christopher Null,
Wired News,
22 June 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Reeking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reeking. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share