as in stinking
having an unpleasant smell
your smelly sneakers are enough to raise the dead
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smelly
Before Brummell, the aristocracy dressed in rich, smelly materials; after, styles were adapted from military uniforms—think of the broad shoulders of a British pinstripe suit, for example.
—
Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
There’s nothing worse than getting out into the wilderness, away from society, and then hearing somebody one campsite over start up a loud, smelly gas generator.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 6 Jan. 2025
Mushy and smelly roots should be clipped away with sterilized pruners or scissors, while circling roots can be gently teased apart to improve water absorption.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Dec. 2024
Some states have taken measures to fight back against the smelly, harmful tree.
—Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 18 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for smelly
Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
There’s nothing worse than getting out into the wilderness, away from society, and then hearing somebody one campsite over start up a loud, smelly gas generator.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 6 Jan. 2025
Mushy and smelly roots should be clipped away with sterilized pruners or scissors, while circling roots can be gently teased apart to improve water absorption.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Dec. 2024
Some states have taken measures to fight back against the smelly, harmful tree.
—Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 18 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for smelly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smelly
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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If the leaf comes out with minimal resistance, the fruit is probably ripe.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
22 June 2025
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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
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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
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Public stations were expensive to maintain and quickly became dirty and malodorous.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Your husband is foul for not calling out her garbage behavior.—
Virginia Chamlee,
People.com,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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First came the disgusting pictures of waters so fouled that they were often compared to rotting guacamole.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 June 2025
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Republicans seem to try to outdo each other to see who can be the most hateful and disgusting.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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The room was filthy, prescription bottles around the room, one bed with no sheets.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
27 June 2025
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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
Adjective
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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
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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
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Keep an eye out for water stains on ceilings and walls, a musty odor, or signs of past flooding in the basement or crawl space.—
Dana Bull,
CNBC,
9 June 2025
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Towels that are left in pile on the floor and aren't dried properly tend to develop musty odors and should be washed immediately.—
Maria Sabella,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smelly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smelly. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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