# stinky

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈstɪŋki/ · frequency rank #24,916

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

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

## Easily confused with
- **stint** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stinky-vs-stint)
- **stony** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stinky-vs-stony)
- **stoney** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stinky-vs-stoney)
- **stocky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stinky-vs-stocky)
- **swanky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stinky-vs-swanky)
- **sink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sink-vs-stinky)
- **stick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stick-vs-stinky)
- **shiny** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiny-vs-stinky)
- **sting** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stinky)
- **sinks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sinks-vs-stinky)
- **stink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stink-vs-stinky)
- **silky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/silky-vs-stinky)
- **stank** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stank-vs-stinky)
- **spiky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spiky-vs-stinky)
- **spiny** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spiny-vs-stinky)
- **sticks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sticks-vs-stinky)
- **skinny** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinny-vs-stinky)
- **sticky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sticky-vs-stinky)
- **stinks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stinks-vs-stinky)
- **stingy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stingy-vs-stinky)

## Common misspellings (10)
`sitnky`, `sstinky`, `stikny`, `stinkky`, `stinkyy`, `stinnky`, `stinyk`, `stniky`, `sttinky`, `tsinky`

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