as in stinking
having an unpleasant smell
your smelly sneakers are enough to raise the dead
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smelly
Banned in Europe In addition to being a carcinogen, formaldehyde, a colorless and smelly gas, can cause rashes and can sicken those who breathe it in, according to the FDA.
—
Ronnie Cohen, NPR, 8 May 2025
Usually, a smelly refrigerator is caused by specific foods inside it and how they're stored.
—Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Apr. 2025
Before, the engine room was a noisy, smelly space below deck.
—Chun-Lien Su, IEEE Spectrum, 29 July 2019
If your plant’s roots or stems are mushy and smelly, your plant may be affected by root rot.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for smelly
Ronnie Cohen, NPR, 8 May 2025
Usually, a smelly refrigerator is caused by specific foods inside it and how they're stored.
—Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Apr. 2025
Before, the engine room was a noisy, smelly space below deck.
—Chun-Lien Su, IEEE Spectrum, 29 July 2019
If your plant’s roots or stems are mushy and smelly, your plant may be affected by root rot.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for smelly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smelly
Adjective
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This is about a team with a top-10 payroll whose GM committed too stinking much of it to dogs that can’t, or won’t, pull the sled.—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
22 Dec. 2019
-
Muttaiah said the man inside the stinking manhole was working without any safety equipment — no gloves, no shoes, no supplemental oxygen.—
Joanna Slater,
Washington Post,
16 Dec. 2019
Adjective
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Cox sold the Statesman but retained ownership of its 18.9-acre site, a property many developers had long coveted and said was ripe for new development.—
Shonda Novak,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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The tomato was ripe, the onion slices added bite and the tuft of alfalfa sprouts was fresh and earthy.—
Rachel Bernhard,
jsonline.com,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Callery pear and Bradford pear trees are considered malodorous, according to the Spruce, a home and garden site.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
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Rue was considered the most malodorous of all herbs, was even thought to keep away evil spirits, and was spread on church floors for this purpose.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
The foul was upgraded to a flagrant foul penalty 2, resulting in an automatic ejection for Banks.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
21 July 2025
-
The other is a red panda named Bad Rudi with a penchant for foul language.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC news,
16 July 2025
Adjective
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This disgusting breach of civil rights against students will not stand.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 July 2025
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There are explosions, too, and lots of NSFW supe antics, like one unidentified supe hacking up a disgusting ball of...something from her throat that splatters on Kimiko's cheek.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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Indeed, the trio looked filthy, and one even had a red, watery eye.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 July 2025
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Sharp has long been one of New York’s filthiest comedians.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
22 July 2025
Adjective
-
Their stories include the reasons that kept them from evacuating and then the harrowing odysseys that took some of them through fetid streets of flood waters, others to the nightmare that was the Superdome or the Convention Center, and still others across impassable bridges and freeways.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
22 July 2025
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That is now as pathetic to me as a fetid caveman’s toolmaking would be to a great thinker like da Vinci or even Edgar Allen Poe.—
Graham Techler,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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If your clothes have a mildewy, musty smell, then vinegar can save the day by banishing these unwanted odors.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
2 Aug. 2025
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Common signs of moldy books include a musty or earthy smell, discoloration (especially black, white, green, or orange spots), soft or fuzzy patches on the cover or pages, and warped or wavy pages due to moisture.—
Lauren Bengtson,
Better Homes & Gardens,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smelly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smelly. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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