smellare

Smellare is an Italian verb meaning to smell or to sniff with the nose. It covers both the perception of an odor and the act of sniffing something, whether done deliberately or as a description of a scent present in the environment. The term is commonly used interchangeably with odorare, though odorare is sometimes favored in more formal or literary contexts, while annusare emphasizes purposeful sniffing or verification of a scent.

Smellare shares its semantic field with odore (odor) and odorare. The noun odore refers to a smell or scent, while odorare and annusare are verbs with closely related meanings. The root is linked to Latin odor, which denotes a smell or fragrance.

In Italian, smellare is transitive and generally takes a direct object when referring to smelling something, as in smellare un fiore. It can also be used with di to describe an odor emanating from something, as in la cucina odora di spezie (the kitchen smells of spices). In many contexts, speakers choose odorare or annusare depending on whether they intend a general perception, a conscious sniff, or a more precise evaluation.

Smellare is a regular -are verb. In the present tense, its forms follow the standard -are verb endings, and similar patterns apply to other tenses. Related terms include odorare, annusare, and odore.