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
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
Nostalgia was for the Smurfs, for erasers that smelled like strawberries.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
The house still smelled of timber, paint, concrete dust.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
The flesh looked like a human brain and smelled like rotten hamburger meat wrapped in gym socks wrapped in butt.
—Cassandra Neyenesch, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 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
Inspectors found rodent feces on shelves and bottled drinks in the back area, and noted that the area smelled heavily of rodent urine, in addition to lacking hot water and floor drains.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2026
The floors smelled of bleach, but a ripe smell of men’s bodies filled the air.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
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
Nostalgia was for the Smurfs, for erasers that smelled like strawberries.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
The house still smelled of timber, paint, concrete dust.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
The flesh looked like a human brain and smelled like rotten hamburger meat wrapped in gym socks wrapped in butt.
—Cassandra Neyenesch, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 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
Inspectors found rodent feces on shelves and bottled drinks in the back area, and noted that the area smelled heavily of rodent urine, in addition to lacking hot water and floor drains.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2026
The floors smelled of bleach, but a ripe smell of men’s bodies filled the air.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smelled
Verb
-
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
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The episode builds to a scene when Duncan, having sniffed out JoAnne’s scheme, blackmails her into an even larger scheme to pump rival executives for business scoops.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
-
And some understood it more self-consciously and articulately than others, but most people sort of sensed it.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
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
-
These compounds can be immediately fatal if inhaled.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
23 Apr. 2026
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This product can turn into a big irritant if ingested or inhaled, and cause several digestive or respiratory issues.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But most states have already held primaries for 2026 so the high court's decision is likely to be felt more in the 2028 presidential contest or in 2031, after the next Census.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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What once felt like an opportunity to close has become something closer to a necessity.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
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Ruggeri says that, in comparison to saw palmetto, which gets far more attention.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The two men were too far away to be heard by reporters, and television cameras did not pick up the audio.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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North Carolina has more than its share of mythical creatures – from the Beast of Bladenboro to the Wampus Cat – so people pay attention when bizarre screams are heard in the night.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cook noticed that all of the lead characters could be said to have conflicting desires, which gave her idea of how to stage the show using the traditional singing/signing model.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
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Their disappearance was not noticed for several hours and touched off a massive manhunt.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smelled. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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