Buzz
When discussing smelly laundry, wet dogs, or terrible films, the terms stink, stank, and stunk frequently arise. But how do they differ? How do you decide if something stinks, if it stank in the past, or if it has stunk at some point?
Grammarist offers a useful guide to clear up this confusion about smell-related verbs. Stink is straightforward—it’s a present-tense verb used when something is currently emitting an unpleasant odor. For example, you might say, “You stink,” to someone fresh from a workout. A baby’s diaper stinks. Public access television stinks. And so on.
Stank is the past tense of stink. Someone watching the Game of Thrones finale today might remark, “This stinks.” However, someone who watched it during its 2019 premiere might remember that it stank. If something isn’t currently producing an odor, literally or figuratively, then it stank.
What about stunk? As the past participle of stink, it’s tied to actions or events. Rather than stating your last birthday party stunk, you could say it stank due to the overly dry cake.
In this context, have, had, and has are auxiliary verbs often paired with stunk. For example, "The party had stunk once the cake was served," or, "My birthday has stunk for years because I’m getting older."
In essence, stink describes the present, stank indicates something was foul in the past, and stunk explains the reason behind it.
