Word
smelly
US/ˈsmɛɫi/
UK/smˈɛli/
Definition
adj. having a strong or unpleasant scent. You use this to describe things that stink, like old socks or garbage.
adj. having a potent and typically offensive odour. Often used predicatively after linking verbs such as 'be', 'smell', or 'become'.
Examples
“The old gym bag is very smelly.”
“The kitchen became quite smelly after the trash was left out during the long holiday weekend.”
“While some find the aroma of certain fermented foods appetizing, others consider them too smelly to keep in a shared office refrigerator.”
Examples
simple
“The old gym bag is very smelly.”
contextual
“The kitchen became quite smelly after the trash was left out during the long holiday weekend.”
complex
“While some find the aroma of certain fermented foods appetizing, others consider them too smelly to keep in a shared office refrigerator.”
Usage
Often modified by degree adverbs like 'very', 'quite', or 'really'.
Etymology
From smell + -y.
A comical pronunciation of the initials SMLE.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/smelly