# sticking vs stinking

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sticking
*verb · IPA /ˈstɪkɪŋ/ · frequency rank #6,964*
present participle and gerund of stick

### stinking
*adjective · IPA /ˈstɪŋkɪŋ/ · frequency rank #27,658*
Having a pungent smell.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sticking-vs-stinking