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smell

/smɛl/noun, verb1 syllable

Smell means: the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people.

Synonyms for smell30

noun, as in the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

spirit, tone, feel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look

noun, as in any property detected by the olfactory system

olfactory property, aroma, odor, odour, scent

noun, as in the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form

odor, odour, olfactory sensation, olfactory perception

noun, as in the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents

sense of smell, olfaction, olfactory modality

noun, as in the act of perceiving the odor of something

smelling

verb, as in have an element suggestive (of something)

smack, reek

verb, as in become aware of not through the senses but instinctively

smell out, sense

also used for smell

niff, fragrance, pong, stench, stink, flair, detect, whiff

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does smell mean?10

noun

1

the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people“the feel of the city excited him”

2

any property detected by the olfactory system

3

the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form“she loved the smell of roses”

4

the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents

5

the act of perceiving the odor of something

verb

1

have an element suggestive (of something)“his speeches smacked of racism”

2

become aware of not through the senses but instinctively“I sense his hostility”

3

inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense

4

emit an odor“The soup smells good”

5

smell bad“He rarely washes, and he smells”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with smell?43

three syllables

personnelurl

four syllables

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Show 40 near rhymes
whentheirtheregetthemthensaidwherebesthelpagainnextagainstendleftletsetcarereadyetheadmenwentyeslesssayshealthfriendsdeathelseairfriendredcheckmyselfyourselfwestgetshimselfself

All 43 rhymes for smell, grouped by syllable

Smell in a sentence

  • These flowers aren't only beautiful, but they smell nice.CK
  • I just opened the lid, and a foul smell filled my nose.aeriph
  • After the fire, the smell of smoke in the air lasted for days.Source_VOA
  • This flower has a strong scent, can you smell it?FiRez
  • Humans have five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.wallebot
  • A smaller, but still dangerous, concentration of pathogens won't necessarily be detectable by smell.sacredceltic
  • The asafoetida is gone, but the smell remains.sabretou
  • Don't touch fish, so your hands won't smell like fish.astyng

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of smell

as a noun

plural
smells

as a verb

past tense
smelled
past participle
smelt
present participle
smelling
third-person singular
smells