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