stinking
/ˈstɪŋkɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
stinking is spelled S-T-I-N-K-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, stinking means “Having a pungent smell” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in stinking?
| Letters | 8: S-T-I-N-K-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,462nd 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 stinking?
Stinking appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd 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 stinking?
- /ˈstɪŋkɪŋ/
Stinking 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-stinking.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stinking
- more stinking comparative
- most stinking superlative
- stinkings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stinking mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a pungent smell.
- 2
Very bad and undesirable.
I have a stinking cold.
- 3
slangVery drunk.
- 4
An intensifier, a hypallage.
We don’t need your stinking sympathy.
noun
- 1
The emission of a foul smell.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of stink
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stinking in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having a bad smell:
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 stinking come from?
From Middle English stynkynge, stinkinge, stinkinde, stinkende, stynkande, stynkand, from Old English stincende, from Proto-Germanic *stinkwandz (“stinking”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *stinkwaną (“to stink”), equivalent to stink + -ing. Cognate with Dutch stinkend (“stinking, stinky”), German stinkend (“stinking, stinky”), Danish stinkende (“stinking, stinky”), Norwegian stinkende (“stinking, stinky”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).