stinks 1 of 2

noun

plural of stink
as in objections
a feeling or declaration of disapproval or dissent many town residents raised an unholy stink about the proposal to increase taxes yet again

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

stinks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of stink
1
as in smells
to give off an extremely unpleasant smell the dog stinks because she tangled with a skunk again

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in sucks
to be objectionable or unsatisfactory their team really stinks this year

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of stinks
Verb
The Movie stinks in a thousand relatively minor and noncommittal ways that end up feeling so much worse than a grand and more personal disaster would. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 The Falcons have already taken a lot of hits on defense, and their quarterback stinks. — Vic Tafur, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026 As the legislative session comes to a close over the next few days, Newsom is in the kitchen, stirring a foul chowder that stinks along the state’s entire 1,200-mile coast. — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 Now the skunk is saying somebody else stinks, though the smell does lead to Infantino and this FFE plan. — Miami Herald, 30 July 2026 With another championship in reach, the timing of MacFarland’s exit stinks. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 7 June 2026 If someone stinks and has options, send him back to the minors. — John Shipley, Twin Cities, 22 May 2026 His eyes are healthy, although his vision stinks. — Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stinks
  1. objections
  2. smells
  3. sucks
  4. complaints
  5. exceptions
Noun
  • Between aesthetic objections and concern for their bottom line, traditional publishing houses refused to have their titles printed in anything other than hardcovers.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Their content objections also became entwined with safety concerns amid building demonstrations by activists.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of objections
Verb
  • That’s reflected in the clips shown to the audience, which, unlike the previous films, really gives the sense that this place smells.
    — Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The candle smells of cereal, milk and lemon and is intended to recall the days of watching Saturday morning cartoons and summer.
    — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of smells
Verb
  • Those outside the stack struggle to attract investment and credit as the overwhelming focus on AI sucks money away from their industries.
    — RUCHIR SHARMA, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026
  • But that doesn’t erase the fact that Gromit breaking kayfabe for his memoir sucks.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of sucks
Noun
  • But their complaints come as Lecornu's government seeks to rein in public spending to appease skittish bond markets, which have punished France more harshly than many of its peers this year, amid a global bond market rout.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Once on the road, the data could be used to detect issues and to improve the driving experience, without needing to wait for complaints or returns.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of complaints
Noun
  • The meeting has fallen to roughly 15 minutes and is now largely about exceptions, problems and decisions.
    — Keith Ferrazzi, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Anthropic allows exceptions for certain government contracts when contractual restrictions and safeguards adequately mitigate potential harm.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of exceptions

Browse Nearby Words

stinkpots
stinks
stinks up
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Cite this Entry

“Stinks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stinks. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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