smelling

verb

present participle of smell
1
as in sniffing
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

Relevance
2
as in sensing
to have a vague awareness of I smell something fishy about this situation

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in sucking
to be objectionable or unsatisfactory that movie smells—I wouldn't waste my money on it if I were you

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of smelling Specifically, the Melrose Place Body Cleanser, which leaves your skin baby-soft and smelling fantastic all day long. — Gina Vaynshteyn, StyleCaster, 11 Aug. 2026 During Florida’s 2024 legalization campaign, Governor Ron DeSantis repeatedly argued that legalization would leave the state smelling like cannabis. — Peter Su, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Their crimes were discovered after neighbors in October 2023 reported smelling a foul odor. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026 Yet this is still a football club that may emerge smelling of roses. — Lee Clayton, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Rewash musty-smelling clothes with a laundry sanitizer to eliminate odors. — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 30 July 2026 Their best sense is chemoreception, sort of like smelling, albeit through a frill of tiny flickering tentacles that extend past a ruff of epipodial tissue between its shell and foot, like a skirt over a petticoat. — Literary Hub, 29 July 2026 Witnesses reported smelling gas before the explosion, according to Reuters. — Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026 Let Your Towels Dry Outside Since UV light is a natural disinfectant, one of Parker’s favorite tricks for keeping towels smelling fresh between washes is to give them some sunshine on a good old-fashioned clothesline. — Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 28 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smelling
  1. sniffing
  2. sensing
  3. sucking
  4. inhaling
  5. feeling
  6. seeing
  7. hearing
  8. noticing
Verb
  • And the men’s team in Midtown — led by owner James Dolan, who notoriously left the Liberty for dead — couldn’t come close to sniffing the Larry O’Brien trophy either.
    — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Ryder said police got a call about Thompson acting irrationally and possibly sniffing glue.
    — Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of sniffing
Verb
  • The humanoid also features tactile sensing in its hands and a 360-degree camera system to perceive its surroundings.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Small variations in genetics, especially those genes involved in sensing molecules produced in the body or influenced by the gut biome, could affect the results.
    — Baltimore Sun, Boston Herald, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of sensing
Verb
  • Pests and Disease Aphids and other sap-sucking insects can drain crepe myrtle sap and spread sooty mold, while leaf spot is a fungal issue that can weaken plants, impair blooming, and leave unsightly splotches on plant leaves.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 4 Aug. 2026
  • That day might start on the couch and end on a neighbor's patio sucking down drinks while watching the SEC try to stay relevant in the national championship chase.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of sucking
Verb
  • Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia that is caused by inhaling the Legionella bacteria in small droplets of water mixed in the air or contaminated water accidentally going into the lungs.
    — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • Health effects from inhaling wildfire smoke But the effects are sweeping, said Hayden, who has developed real-time mapping of mortality estimates from wildfire smoke.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 18 July 2026
Definition of inhaling
Verb
  • Waldrep left a July 19 start for Gwinnett in Toledo, Ohio, after feeling discomfort in his throwing arm.
    — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The Sydney penthouse, measuring in at just under 9,700 square feet, takes a restrained approach while still feeling sumptuous, thanks to interiors that pair custom pieces with luxe materials.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of feeling
Verb
  • What to read next To have any realistic chance of seeing the northern lights during the eclipse, Earth would need to be in the grip of a severe geomagnetic storm.
    — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • People who live in Palo Alto are probably used to seeing a driverless car quietly humming around on the street, but in middle America, many have never seen this kind of thing in practice.
    — John Werner, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of seeing
Verb
  • Meghan personally called animal rights attorney Shannon Keith, who runs the Beagle Freedom Project, after hearing about 4,000 beagles being rescued from overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at the Envigo breeding and research plant in Virginia.
    — Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The most rewarding thing about this has been hearing audiences laugh together, and maybe cry.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of hearing
Verb
  • That is, until audiences, like Carol, begin noticing all the fractures beneath the psyche of the shiny, happy people.
    — Deadline, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Anudike-Uzomah has been a pleasant surprise, with head coach Andy Reid noticing improved explosion and get-off.
    — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of noticing

Browse Nearby Words

smellers
smelling
smelling (of)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Smelling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smelling. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of smelling for Spanish Speakers

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