Smelling

//ˈsmɛlɪŋ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act by which something is smelled.

    "To such perceivings we give names like these: seeings, hearings, smellings, chillings and burnings, pleasures and pains, desires […]"

  2. 2
    the act of perceiving the odor of something wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of smell form-of, gerund, participle, present
  2. 2
    Used in adjectival compounds.

    "foul-smelling (having a foul smell)"

Adjective
  1. 1
    (used with ‘of’ or ‘with’) noticeably odorous wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
aromaticbadfecalfetidfoulfragrant

Example

More examples

"The girl is smelling the flowers."

Related phrases

smelling salts

More for "smelling"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.