# stench

> English word · Noun · IPA /stɛnt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #25,221

## Definitions
1. a strong foul smell; a stink.
2. A foul quality.
3. A smell or odour, not necessarily bad.

## Etymology
From Middle English stench, from Old English stenċ (“stench, odor, fragrance”), from Proto-Germanic *stankwiz (“smell, fragrance, odor”), from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- (“to push, thrust”). Cognate with Dutch stank (“stench, odor”), German Stank, Gestank (“stench, odor, smell”), Danish stank (“stench”), Swedish stank (“stench”), Icelandic stækja (“stench”).

## Easily confused with
- **Steph** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stench-vs-steph)
- **stent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stench-vs-stent)
- **stitch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stench-vs-stitch)
- **stretch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stench-vs-stretch)
- **stencil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stench-vs-stencil)
- **speech** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speech-vs-stench)
- **stance** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stance-vs-stench)
- **sketch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sketch-vs-stench)
- **Spence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spence-vs-stench)
- **starch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/starch-vs-stench)
- **staunch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/staunch-vs-stench)

## Common misspellings (10)
`setnch`, `sstench`, `stecnh`, `stencch`, `stenchh`, `stenhc`, `stennch`, `stnech`, `sttench`, `tsench`

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