reek
Example Sentences
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Disproportionate death sentences may be convincing to those who make clemency decisions, and they reek of unfairness.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
If that doesn’t reek of a corporate attempt to get people hooked, I don’t know what does.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2025
So the two embarked on a survey in the university hostels asking a truly human question: if our sneakers reek, doesn't that ruin the entire experience of using a shoe rack?
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025
There are also a lot of fires in her fiction, and scenes that reek of tombs.
From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2024
“I hate to mention it, but I’m going to reek of garlic,” Lane said.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
And when the wind whips, the air reeks of a potent campfire — but no campers are around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
The shelter in the town hall car park has excrement smeared on the floor and reeks of urine.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
While the bots are getting slightly better at mimicking human cadences, AI-generated writing still reeks of the sterile laboratory where it originates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
By leaving the couple of hours between posts “to me, reeks of some sort of impropriety,” Adami said.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026
There’s a rose in President Snow’s lapel, which at least suggests a source of the flower perfume, but it must be genetically enhanced, because no real rose reeks like that.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
By late May, a judge declared the indictment a bad-faith effort that reeked of vindictive prosecution and dismissed it.
From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2026
"The house reeked when we first got here, it was genuinely atrocious for months," Razan says.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Furniture reeked of smoke and had to be removed for cleaning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
It also reeked of “desperation,” per former federal prosecutor Harry Litman.
From Salon ● May 29, 2024
Harry looked handsome and reeked of the competing scents of lavender pomade and bay rum toilet water.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Snake is a wonderfully pulpy, instantly iconic creation, an outcast adventurer reeking of sweat and post-Vietnam cynicism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
Spurs now enter the final few weeks of the window reeking of desperation.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025
But this year, there have been more than a few complaints that the long-awaited year-end data dump was surprisingly "boring," and reeking of AI.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2024
Far from the handsome man she has pictured, he struts in with an “air of cheap assurance” and flashes his trinkets, reeking of cheap cologne, hair coated in bear grease.
From Slate ● May 27, 2024
Reached over, plucked Rock off the bench where he’d been cowering and reeking of urinal cakes and dragged him behind us like a toddler dragging a security blanket.
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
Vocabulary lists containing reek
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Something Smells: From "Malodorous" to "Mephitic" to "It Reeks!"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Smell Words
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
