- smell
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} nounADJECTIVE▪ overpowering, pervasive, pungent, rich, sharp, strong▪
There was an overpowering smell of burning rubber.
▪ faint▪ distinct▪ distinctive, particular, unmistakable▪ funny, peculiar, strange, unusual▪What's that funny smell?
▪ familiar▪ lingering▪ aromatic, delectable, delicious, fragrant, fresh, lovely, nice, pleasant, sweet, wonderful▪the sweet smell of roses
▪ warm▪ awful, bad, disgusting, evil, foul, horrible, nasty, offensive, terrible, unpleasant, vile▪ acrid, nauseating, noxious, putrid, rank, sickly▪An acrid smell filled the air.
▪ damp, musty, rancid, sour, stale▪the sour smell of unwashed linen
▪ chemical, earthy, fishy, masculine, metallic, musky, smoky, spicy▪ burning, cooking▪Cooking smells drifted up from the kitchen.
VERB + SMELL▪ be filled with, have▪The air was filled with a pervasive smell of chemicals.
▪The house had a musty smell after being shut up over the winter.
▪ give off▪The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.
▪ catch, detect, notice▪As she walked into the house she detected the smell of gas.
▪ mask▪Fragrance dispensers are designed to mask unpleasant smells.
SMELL + VERB▪ come, drift, emanate, float, waft▪The smell was coming from the kitchen.
▪A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the lawn.
▪ fill sth, hang in the air▪The smell of death hangs in the air.
▪ hit sb▪Then the pungent smell hit us—rotting fish and seaweed.
PREPOSITION▪ smell from▪the putrid smell from the slaughterhouse
▪ smell of▪the smell of smoke
PHRASES▪ sense of smell▪Deer have a keen sense of smell.
▪ the sights, sounds and smells of …▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}The sights, sounds and smells of Delhi stunned me.
verb1 notice/identify sth by using your noseADVERB▪ almost, practically▪Snow fell so that you could almost smell the cold.
▪You could practically smell the danger around us.
VERB + SMELL▪ can▪Can you smell gas?
2 have a particular smellADVERB▪ strongly▪His clothes smelled strongly of fish.
▪ faintly, slightly, vaguely▪He smelled faintly of sweat.
PREPOSITION▪ like▪It smells like rotten meat!
▪ of▪The kitchen smelled sweetly of herbs and fruit.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
