stinky

/ˈstɪŋki/

//ˈstɪŋki// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stinky" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stinky” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,916. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,916
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a strong, unpleasant smell; stinking.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stinky · stinky · English

stinky · rank #24,916 · 10 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,916
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stitching

Nearest frequency peer: stitching (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “stinky”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “stinky” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stinky vs stint
67% similar
stinky vs stony
67% similar
stinky vs stoney
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stinky
PropertyValue
Headwordstinky
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈstɪŋki/
Letters6
Frequency rank#24,916
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stinky”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).stinkylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “stitching” (#24,917), “ssh” (#24,914), “stockpile” (#24,918). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stinky” is #24,916. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around stinky (IPA /ˈstɪŋki/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #24,916 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for stinky, with forms such as "sitnky", "sstinky", and "stikny". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "stint", "stony", "stoney", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stinky, stynky, equivalent to stink + -y. Compare Dutch stinkig (“stinky, foul, rotten”), German stinkig (“stinky”), Hunsrik stinkich. The correct English form is stinky, spelled S-T-I-N-K-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a strong, unpleasant smell; stinking.
  2. 2
    Bad, undesirable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how stinky appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What is that stinky smell?
  2. 1991, Theresa P. Gladden, Romancing Susan, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 37, […] she walked over to the table and switched off the Walkman as she sat down. “Hey!” Nikki yelped. “That was a stinky thing to do. That was my favorite song.”

Etymology

From Middle English stinky, stynky, equivalent to stink + -y. Compare Dutch stinkig (“stinky, foul, rotten”), German stinkig (“stinky”), Hunsrik stinkich.

This word in other languages

hediondo(Español)puant(Français)stinkend(Deutsch)malcheiroso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sitnky
  • sstinky
  • stikny
  • stinkky
  • stinkyy
  • stinnky
  • stinyk
  • stniky
  • sttinky
  • tsinky

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stinky - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

sitnky2sstinky1stikny2stinkky1stinkyy1stinnky1stinyk2stniky2
Edit distance from "stinky"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stinky"?
"stinky" is spelled S-T-I-N-K-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɪŋki/.
What does "stinky" mean?
As an adjective, "stinky" means: Having a strong, unpleasant smell; stinking.
What words are commonly confused with "stinky"?
"stinky" is commonly confused with "stint", "stony", "stoney". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stinky"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stinky" is /ˈstɪŋki/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stinky"?
From Middle English stinky, stynky, equivalent to stink + -y. Compare Dutch stinkig (“stinky, foul, rotten”), German stinkig (“stinky”), Hunsrik stinkich. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stinky", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sprang#24,913stumps#24,923slutty#24,906scents#24,890

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

salient10 variantsWoodrow10 variantsPontiac10 variantspeaking10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list