What does smellier mean?
Smellier is the comparative form of smelly, meaning that something has a stronger, more noticeable, or more unpleasant smell than something else. It is commonly used in everyday speech to compare objects, places, foods, animals, or situations by odor: one room may be smellier than another, or a food may become smellier as it deteriorates. Although the word often suggests an unpleasant odor, it can also be used humorously or descriptively for any increasingly conspicuous smell, including pleasant ones. The suffix -ier is added to smelly to form the comparison, while more smelly is also possible in formal or emphatic contexts. As a comparative adjective, smellier is normally paired with than, though it may also appear without a second term when a change over time is understood.
adjectiveComparative of smelly: having a more noticeable, unpleasant, or distinctive smell.
- Having a more noticeable, unpleasant, or distinctive smell than something else.
"The old radiator became increasingly smellier over the winter."
"These shoes are smellier than the pair you wore yesterday."
"The kitchen was smellier after the fish had been left out overnight."
Sometimes one small suffix turns a simple description into a full comparison: smellier means there is more odor, not merely an odor.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of smellier
The adjective belongs to the English smell word family. Smelly is an adjective derived from smell, and the comparative suffix -ier was added to form smellier. The word smell is inherited from Old English and is associated with a Germanic verbal root; its broader semantic history includes both noticing an odor and producing a distinctive smell. Smellier is a modern productive comparative form rather than an independent inherited word.
Related word forms
How smellier is actually used
Smellier is the comparative of smelly. It is normally used when comparing two or more things, although it can also describe a progressively worsening smell. It is informal and often carries an unpleasant connotation, though it can describe any increasingly noticeable odor.
Easily confused with smellier
Smelly is the base adjective, while smellier is its comparative form and indicates that something has a stronger or more unpleasant smell than something else.