smelly
/ˈsmɛli/adjective, noun
smelly is spelled S-M-E-L-L-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, smelly means “Having a bad smell” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in smelly?
| Letters | 6: S-M-E-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is smelly?
Smelly appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce smelly?
- /ˈsmɛli/
Smelly has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-smelly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of smelly
- smellier comparative
- smelliest superlative
- smellies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does smelly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a bad smell.
She was hesitant to remove her shoes, as her socks were rather smelly.
- 2
Having a quality that arouses suspicion.
The detective read the documents and thought, "Something sure is smelly about this case."
- 3
slangHaving signs that suggest a design problem; having a code smell.
That smelly code needs to be refactored.
noun
- 1
informala Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifle or one of its derivatives.
- 2
rareA smelly person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Smelly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having a bad smell:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | puant, puante, malodorant |
| German | stinkend |
| Portuguese | fedorento |
| Spanish | maloliente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does smelly come from?
From smell + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).