Library / English Dictionary

STINK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: stank    , stunk   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant

Synonyms:

fetor; foetor; malodor; malodour; mephitis; reek; stench; stink

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("stink" is a kind of...):

odor; odour; olfactory perception; olfactory sensation; smell (the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stink"):

niff; pong (an unpleasant smell)

Derivation:

stink (smell badly and offensively)

stinky (having an unpleasant smell)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Smell badly and offensively

Example:

The building reeks of smoke

Synonyms:

reek; stink

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "stink" is one way to...):

smell (smell bad)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Also:

stink out; stink up (cause to smell bad; fill with a bad smell)

Derivation:

stink (a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant)

stinker (anything that gives off an offensive odor (especially a cheap cigar))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be extremely bad in quality or in one's performance

Example:

This term paper stinks!

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "stink" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

stinker (an artifact (especially an automobile) that is defective or unsatisfactory)

Credits