What is the difference between 'stench' and 'stink', both used as nouns and smells? I want the olfactory distinction of these words. I am very much aware of the other meanings of stink but that is not what I want.
For example:
- There was a stench in the bathroom.
- There was a stink in the bathroom.
What's the distinction here?
Best Answer
The Oxford dictionary describes stench as:
It describes stink as:
So according to this, both words mean the same. I found also that both have the same etymology. They arise from the Old English stenc.
I was wondering if there were a shred of difference in their meanings but I am not able to find any. An English professor, very long ago, had told me that no two words in the English language have the same meaning. They may have similar meanings, but not same. But here we seem to have refuted his ideology.