reek
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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No one has ever written an alternate history that didn’t reek of staginess, but Mr. Boyne’s cast comes coated with greasepaint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
It’s not dense, it doesn’t blabber on and it certainly doesn’t reek of masculine self-obsession.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
Disproportionate death sentences may be convincing to those who make clemency decisions, and they reek of unfairness.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
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
The hissing burns my ears, and the reek of roses makes the walls spin.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Recorded largely in the steamy, sweltering basement of Richards’ rented French villa, Nellecôte, “Exile” reeks of filth, decadence and decay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 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
My tone reeks of I need someone to talk to.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
He looked up to find the culprit: tree-shaped air fresheners that reeked of cheap cologne.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
It was filthy, reeked of paint, and had no kitchen, mattresses, or water.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2024
It reeked of moisture, and she and her husband worried about raising young kids amid mold.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
It also reeked of “desperation,” per former federal prosecutor Harry Litman.
From Salon ● May 29, 2024
The cells had recently been painted and reeked of paint fumes.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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
Fans have been speaking to BBC Sport to vent their frustration at the situation, with one saying: "Spurs now enter the final few weeks of the transfer window reeking of desperation."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025
If you’re not keen on slathering animal fat all over your face and reeking of beef, there are a few alternatives that promise similar results and smell much better.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2025
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
I contemplated my chances and fanned a dim ember of hope in my heart as I sat in the sun, reeking like a giant match.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Vocabulary lists containing reek
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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Something Smells: From "Malodorous" to "Mephitic" to "It Reeks!"
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Smell Words
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