stinking
stinking — adjective
- stinkingpositive
- more stinkingcomparative
- most stinkingsuperlative
1. giving off a powerful and offensive smell, especially from something old, rottin
giving off a powerful and offensive smell, especially from something old, rotting, or not clean
The bin behind the restaurant was stinking after three days without collection.
stinking as predicate adjective after 'be'
Eli took off his stinking socks after the long hike through the forest.
A stinking pile of old fish had been left lying in the morning sun.
The plumber found a stinking puddle of water under the broken kitchen sink.
Nadia wrapped the stinking leftovers in newspaper before throwing them out.
- fragrant
describes a pleasant, sweet smell
用法筆記
Stronger and more forceful than 'smelly'. Often expresses the speaker's disgust, not merely a neutral description of a smell.
常見錯誤
2. extremely unpleasant or unfair in quality or character — used to express strong
extremely unpleasant or unfair in quality or character — used to express strong annoyance about a situation, experience, or thing
Hassan caught a stinking cold the day before his final exams.
collocation: stinking cold
The basketball team had a stinking week with three losses and a key injury.
stinking + time period (week / day / month)
Darius described the service at the hotel as stinking and refused to leave a tip.
What a stinking way to treat someone who helped you for years!
用法筆記
Typically used before a noun (attributive position) in this sense. Not normally used after 'be' to describe a situation — e.g. you would say 'a stinking cold' but not 'this cold is stinking.'
常見錯誤
stinking — adverb
1. very much — used before a small set of adjectives (such as 'rich' and 'drunk') t
very much — used before a small set of adjectives (such as 'rich' and 'drunk') to give extra strength to the description in informal speech
Pedro's uncle was stinking rich but drove a twenty-year-old car.
fixed phrase: stinking rich
Constanza's grandfather made a fortune in shipping and became stinking rich.
Felix stumbled out of the bar at closing time, stinking drunk and laughing.
The summer heat in that part of the city was stinking hot and sticky.
- extremely
neutral, works with many more adjectives; not restricted to informal use
- incredibly
strong emphasis; neutral register, much wider range of collocations
文法句型
stinking + adjective (rich / drunk / hot)
用法筆記
Only combines with a very limited set of adjectives — most commonly 'rich' and 'drunk'. Does not have a comparative form. Very informal; avoid in formal writing.