# stifling vs stinking

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### stifling
*adjective · IPA /ˈstaɪflɪŋ/ · frequency rank #30,244*
That stifles.

### 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/stifling-vs-stinking