Synonyms of smelled

smelled

verb

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

• sniffed
• inhaled
• breathed
• scented
• whiffed
• snuffed
• drank (in)
• nosed
• snorted
• respired
• savored
• snuffled

2

as in sensed

to have a vague awareness of

I smell something fishy about this situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sensed
• felt
• saw
• heard
• noticed
• tasted
• perceived
• scented
• realized
• expected
• looked (at)
• discovered
• noted
• remarked
• spied
• learned
• anticipated
• witnessed
• beheld
• observed
• viewed
• discerned
• suspected
• sighted
• ascertained
• regarded
• eyed
• guessed
• found out
• supposed
• espied
• distinguished
• foresaw
• assumed
• caught on (to)
• presumed
• descried
• surmised
• speculated
• divined
• conjectured
• foreknew

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

• sucked
• bit
• stank

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ruled
• rocked

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of smelled

In my early memories, my grandfather had smelled like carpet cleaner. — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026

For Dylan Feierabend, there are few things more life-affirming than fishing for redtail surfperch and smelt at Centerville Beach in rural Humboldt County. — Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026

Rather than projecting for others, these more subtle scents are meant to be smelled only by you and others who are lucky enough to get close. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 28 Sep. 2026

To a novice taster, sipping out of a plastic Mets carafe, the wine smelled like dry grass and very ripe blackberries. — Arthur Holland Michel, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Cozzi’s colleague eventually checked the office bathroom, which overwhelmingly smelled of cleaning products and alcohol. — Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026

To be loved is to be smelled, at least according to the manosphere. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 22 Sep. 2026

Aryna Sabalenka stopped a match because, apparently, the stadium smelled more like weed than your neighbor’s van with the Dio album cover airbrushed on the side. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Officers initially smelled the odor of unburnt cannabis during the stop, according to police, and Mark Stephens handed them an open container of weed. — Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026