Stench
/stɛnt͡ʃ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 a strong foul smell; a stink.
- 2 a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant wordnet
- 3 A foul quality. figuratively
"the stench of political corruption"
- 4 A smell or odour, not necessarily bad. obsolete
"Black bulls, and bearded goats on altars lie; / And clouds of ſav'ry ſtench involve the ſky."
Verb
- 1 To cause to emit a disagreeable odour; to cause to stink. obsolete
"Dead bards stench every coast"
- 2 To stanch.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"The stench of rotting flesh overwhelmed us as we entered the room."
Etymology
From Middle English stench, from Old English stenċ (“stench, odor, fragrance”), from Proto-Germanic *stankwiz (“smell, fragrance, odor”), from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- (“to push, thrust”). Cognate with Dutch stank (“stench, odor”), German Stank, Gestank (“stench, odor, smell”), Danish stank (“stench”), Swedish stank (“stench”), Icelandic stækja (“stench”).