stinker

noun

stink·​er ˈstiŋ-kər 

1

a

: an offensive or contemptible person

b

: one that stinks

c

: something of very poor quality

also : dud sense 2a

the movie is a stinker

2

: any of several large petrels that have an offensive odor

3

slang : something extremely difficult

the examination was a real stinker

Synonyms

• bastard
• beast
• bleeder [British]
• blighter [chiefly British]
• boor
• bounder
• bugger
• buzzard
• cad
• chuff
• churl
• clown
• creep
• cretin
• crud [slang]
• crumb [slang]
• cur
• dirtbag [slang]
• dog
• fink
• heel
• hound
• jerk
• joker
• louse
• lout
• pill
• rat
• rat fink
• reptile
• rotter
• schmuck [slang]
• scum
• scumbag [slang]
• scuzzball [slang]
• skunk
• sleaze
• sleazebag [slang]
• sleazeball [slang]
• slime
• slimeball [slang]
• slob
• snake
• so-and-so
• sod [chiefly British]
• stinkard
• swine
• toad
• varmint
• vermin

Examples of stinker in a Sentence

He is a dirty little stinker.

a real stinker of a performance

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s tons of stuff out right now, and most of it is great—a few stinkers aside. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024

While some may have pushed the panic button after losing in a stinker against what appeared to be an overmatched opponent in the Denver Broncos at home last week, the Buccaneers made people quickly forget about that loss in their second big win over a playoff team this season. —Dj Siddiqi, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2024

Adding injury to insult (almost literally), San Francisco went into Minneapolis and put up a stinker of a performance in its latest road loss to the Vikings. —Vincent Frank, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024

There was a lot to process two days after that stinker of a home opener. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1a