smelled

variants or chiefly British smelt
past tense of smell
1
as in sniffed
to become aware of by means of the sense organs in the nose we smelled the aroma of freshly baked cookies as soon as we walked in the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
3
as in sucked
to be objectionable or unsatisfactory that movie smells—I wouldn't waste my money on it if I were you

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of smelled The cafeteria smelled the same. Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025 The sergeant noted at least 12 bruises alone were found on the boy from the forehead down to the jaw on both sides of Campbell's face and that the child smelled overwhelmingly like urine. Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025 Beans sometimes smelled rancid. Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025 The Red Lane Spa, which smelled of ylang-ylang and frangipani, was another highlight. Essence, 18 Oct. 2025 The professional chef, who had never smelled her own feet before, screamed as Barrymore picked up her foot and gave it a sniff. Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Oct. 2025 The whole room smelled like old furniture and melted ice pops. Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025 My dad considered luxury his old Jaguar two-seater that smelled of leather and oil, a cigar and a brandy, and long, indulgent lunches at great restaurants. Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2025 The outlet said the floor smelled like Febreze. Janelle Ash, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smelled
Verb
  • The Raiders sniffed out a screen before a pop-pass gave him a lane for his first touchdown in 392 days.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
  • San Marcos tried a flea flicker on its last-gasp play, but it was sniffed out by the Carlsbad defense.
    John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • There’s even a design echo between the nomadic Mongolian ger — the traditional felt tent sometimes referred to as yurts — and the Martian dome prototypes being developed by the MARS-V engineering team.
    Rosanna Philpott, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The Search Begins Our search began with what felt like hunting for a needle in a haystack.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Every red and blue photon gets sucked into a plant for photosynthesis, just the green ones ricocheting through the understory to form a kind of therapeutic light bath.
    Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • His frequent use of direct-to-camera narration initially seems like a cloying misstep (mostly because so many other movies have sucked the fun out of that device).
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Its use was banned in many countries around the turn of the millennium amid concerns that the fibers, when airborne, could result in potentially fatal lung diseases if inhaled.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Previous research has found that TCE, when inhaled or ingested, can easily cross the blood-brain barrier and cause damage to neurons.
    Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Their daughter, Darlene Tenes, sensed her father was hanging on trying to make it to the anniversary.
    Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
  • Had his dad not sensed something and dialed 911, Andrew, a star baseball player turned gambling addict in college, would have quietly checked out at age 33, leaving his twin infant sons, his guilt-crippled parents, and many thousands of dollars in gambling debts behind.
    Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The trees were cut down, sawed in half, hollowed out and tied back together for the musicians to use.
    Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2025
  • Fanatics shared the moment Tennessee Titans first overall pick, quarterback Cam Ward, saw Brady pop up on the screen to give him some wise words.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Testers tasted the chips by themselves to form their opinion on the taste.
    Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2025
  • When chef John Williams first tasted sauce périgourdine at nineteen, he was captivated by the combination of earthy truffle, sweet Madeira and Port, and savory veal stock.
    Joel Hart, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • One day, Mae noticed Gracie was looking a little larger than usual.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The following day, the company noticed suspicious activity on its own network.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Smelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smelled. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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