noun / verb
smack
A distinctive trace of flavor.
The sauce has a smack of garlic and fresh herbs.
Etymology
The older word means taste or flavor. A smack of something is a recognizable trace of that flavor within another substance.
More examples
- His apology smacks of resentment rather than regret.
- The proposal smacked of desperation.
- Her speech has a smack of old-fashioned formality.
Forms
smack · smacks · smacked · smacking
Similar words
- hint
- Suggests a subtler or less noticeable trace of something.
- tang
- Specifically describes a sharp, often pleasantly sour flavor.
- suggestion
- Emphasizes an impression of a quality rather than literal flavor.