variants
or chiefly British smelt
1
2
as in sensed
to have a vague awareness of
I smell something fishy about this situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smelled
The air smelled faintly of lunch and feet.
—
Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Matamala had smelled smoke in the air in the early evening; within five hours, flames had reached the house.
—Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
These blooms are loved by babies, smelled by furry friends and bring out suburban neighbors to the city, including Kathy Cooper from Hopkins.
—Marielle Mohs, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
She was reported to have been back at work the next day in clothes that smelled of smoke.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 Apr. 2026
Take that time at the 2021 Academy Awards when a reporter asked her what Brad Pitt smelled like.
—Regina Kim, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2026
Water began pouring into David Tahara’s North Park home Tuesday night around midnight, thanks to a late-breaking rainfall and a basement storm drain that smelled of sewage at certain points.
—Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
The house still smelled of timber, paint, concrete dust.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
Negotiations with the United States picked back up after the Civil War, and Seward, a proponent of American expansion, smelled a bargain.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Mar. 2026
Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Matamala had smelled smoke in the air in the early evening; within five hours, flames had reached the house.
—Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
These blooms are loved by babies, smelled by furry friends and bring out suburban neighbors to the city, including Kathy Cooper from Hopkins.
—Marielle Mohs, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
She was reported to have been back at work the next day in clothes that smelled of smoke.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 Apr. 2026
Take that time at the 2021 Academy Awards when a reporter asked her what Brad Pitt smelled like.
—Regina Kim, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2026
Water began pouring into David Tahara’s North Park home Tuesday night around midnight, thanks to a late-breaking rainfall and a basement storm drain that smelled of sewage at certain points.
—Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
The house still smelled of timber, paint, concrete dust.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
Negotiations with the United States picked back up after the Civil War, and Seward, a proponent of American expansion, smelled a bargain.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smelled
Verb
-
Jokic has never sniffed an All-Defensive Team as a center.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
-
But none of that seemed to matter because the Mets went on to lose that game, 7-1, and haven't sniffed a victory since.—
Jeff Capellini,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Williamson sensed something was wrong when Coffey didn't call her on Mother's Day.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Makris and his co-author, Cadine Navarro, want to further investigate whether other environmental cues, such as wind, could be sensed by plants in similar ways.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Any passengers not knocked out during the chaos or sucked out into the sky are generally screaming and grabbing for oxygen masks while Captain Rich makes a futile announcement about the importance of not panicking.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Being pulled away from her child felt like the air was being sucked out of her lungs.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Transmission to people generally happens when virus-laden rodent excreta gets stirred up in dust and inhaled—for example, a person sweeping out a shed or garage with a rodent infestation without a mask.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
-
The virus is carried through water droplets and can by inhaled by neighbors or in some cases spread through touch on things like doorhandles and public surfaces.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Verb
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The company also felt the loss of its NBA contract for its TNT channel, which NBC picked up for its network and streaming service.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
-
The idea of relocating felt uncertain, especially given custody arrangements and the realities of moving such a large family.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Moving a blade back and forth to try to saw biscuits apart will make their layers stick (and ruin the rise).—
Ella Quittner,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Ruggeri says that, in comparison to saw palmetto, which gets far more attention.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Before last year, Cecilia Alemani, the chief curator at the High Line, had never heard of—much less seen—a pigeon diaper.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
When House Bill 1359, which addressed scanning early voting ballots, was heard in the Senate Elections committee this year, the bill was amended to decrease early voting from 28 days to 16 days.—
Alexandra Kukulka,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Jean noticed that the wait times displayed on her internal scorecard often exceeded an hour.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
-
Jaxon was at daycare April 2 when one of the workers noticed a rash on his body — his arms, legs and bottom, plus a ring around his neck.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smelled. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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