Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of smell

16 similar words

Another word for smell is sense. Other synonyms of smell are stink and reek.

Synonyms and similar words for smell

nounA sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing...

  • aromaA smell; especially a pleasant, spicy or fragrant one.
  • niff informalA bad smell.

nounThe sense that detects odours.

  • olfactionThe sense of smell; the detection of airborne molecules.
  • sense of smell

verbTo sense a smell or smells.

  • detect
  • senseTo use biological senses: to either see, hear, smell, taste, or feel.

verbFollowed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.

  • pong informalTo stink, to smell bad.
  • reekTo have or give off a strong, unpleasant smell.
  • stinkTo have a strong bad smell.
  • whiffTo breathe in or sniff (an odour); to smell.

nounMore synonyms

  • fragranceA pleasant smell or odour.
  • odorAny smell, whether fragrant or offensive.
  • odourUK standard spelling of odor.
  • scentA distinctive smell.
  • stenchA strong foul smell; a stink.
  • flair obsoleteSmell; odor.

Meaning of smell

  1. noun A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
  2. noun The sense that detects odours.
  3. noun A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate.

Full definition of smell

smell in other languages

Questions about synonyms of smell

What is another word for smell?
Smell has 16 synonyms on Word.ws, such as sense, stink and reek.
What does smell mean?
Smell means a sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: smell (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of smell.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/smell. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.