French word

relent

Pronunciation

IPA/ʁəlɑ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine nounwhiff

Example

En entrant, j'ai senti un relent de fumée.

On entering, I detected a whiff of smoke.

Illustration for relent (whiff)

More examples

Il restait un relent d'amertume dans ses mots.

A faint trace of bitterness remained in his words.

Core concept

A thin residue trailing behind a vanished smell, event, or feeling.

Common phrases

  • un relent de fumée

    a faint whiff of smoke

  • un relent de tabac

    a faint whiff of tobacco

  • un relent d'amertume

    a faint trace of bitterness

Similar words

odeur: The smell given off by a person or thing.
arôme: The distinctive scent of food or drink.
parfum: The fragrant scent of perfume or flowers.
fumée: The odor produced by burning material.

Definition in French

Indication olfactive faible, souvent étendue au sens d'une impression résiduelle non matérielle.

Word origin

The noun is inherited from Old French relent and is linked to relenter, a verb for giving off an odor; its meaning later extended beyond smells.

Usage tips

  • In relent, the final -ent is silent and the ending has a nasal vowel, roughly /ʁəlɑ̃/.

Other meanings

  • lingering smellnoun
  • tracenoun

Word lists with this word