whiff
[noun]
Synonyms: smell, aroma, hint, odour, scent, sniff

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English Thesaurus: smell, whiff, scent, fragrance/perfume, aroma, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

whiff /wɪf/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: From the sound of a light movement of air carrying a smell]

1. a very slight smell of something
whiff of
a whiff of tobacco
get/catch a whiff of something
As she walked past, I caught a whiff of her perfume.

2. a whiff of danger/adventure/freedom etc a slight sign that something dangerous, exciting etc might happen:
The whiff of danger filled her with excitement.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

whiff
noun
ADJ. faint | strong | unmistakable (often figurative) detecting the unmistakable whiff of electoral blackmail
VERB + WHIFF catch, get, detect I caught the whiff of whisky on his breath. (figurative) Journalists caught a whiff of scandal and pursued the actress relentlessly.
PREP. ~ of a whiff of perfume
PHRASES at the faintest/first/merest whiff of sth (figurative) He always retreated emotionally at the first whiff of conflict.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

smell something that you can recognize by breathing in through your nose:
the smell from the kitchen
What’s that awful smell?
the sweet smell of roses
whiff something that you smell for a short time:
He caught a whiff of her perfume.
a whiff of apple blossom
scent a smell – used especially about the pleasant smell from flowers, plants, or fruit. Also used about the smell left by an animal:
The rose had a beautiful scent.
Cats use their scent to mark their territory.
the sharp, dying scent of autumn
the heady scent (=strong scent)of magnolias
fragrance/perfume a pleasant smell, especially from flowers, plants, or fruit. Fragrance and perfume are more formal than scent:
the sweet perfume of the orange blossoms
Each mango has its own special fragrance.
aroma formal a pleasant smell from food or coffee:
the aroma of fresh coffee
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of mince pies.
odour British English, odor American English formal an unpleasant smell:
An unpleasant odour was coming from the dustbins.
the odor of stale tobacco smoke
pong British English informal an unpleasant smell:
What’s that horrible pong?
stink/stench a very strong and unpleasant smell:
I couldn’t get rid of the stink of sweat.
The toilet gave off a terrible stench.
smell good/nice etc
The food smelled good.
smell delicious
That soup smells delicious.
smell fresh
Rub your chopping board with lemon to keep it smelling fresh.
smell sweet
A ripe melon will smell sweet.
smell bad/awful etc
Cigarettes make your clothes smell awful.
smell funny/strange
This place smells funny sometimes.
smell strongly of something
The man smelled strongly of alcohol.
smell faintly of something
His suit smelled faintly of tobacco.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲