# stinking vs stroking

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

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

### stroking
*verb · IPA /ˈstɹəʊ̯k.ɪŋ/ · frequency rank #24,327*
present participle and gerund of stroke

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