How to Use smack of in a Sentence

smack of

phrasal verb
Definition of smack ofnext
  • But there’s not a smack of hipness here, and Jalali is not on a quest for cool.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2023
  • The panel of guests, the phone calls from the audience, the strange little bits — it all smacks of TCGS.
    — Vulture Staff, Vulture, 13 May 2024
  • My bowl smacked of a kind of sweetness not found in the natural world.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 4 Jan. 2024
  • One fear is that this type of criticism might smack of elitism.
    — Laurent Dubreuil, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
  • She is played by Nicole Kidman), the whole setup smacks of too much, too soon.
    — Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023
  • The floating smells of her cooking were vile, stews that smacked of potions.
    — Cynthia Ozick, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023
  • Hear the loud, sweaty smack of a fighting rebound torn from the arms of a Memphis Grizzly.
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2023
  • But the bread was like a gray cloud that swallowed the lush stracciatella and blurred the meaty smack of the mortadella and salame.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2024
  • But recent news still smacks of a prelude to Bacigalupi’s tale.
    — The Arizona Republic, 27 July 2023
  • Maybe one of the season's top fashion trends, like a pair of breezy linen pants, splashy jelly sandals, or a white dress that smacks of the beach?
    — Malia Griggs, Glamour, 11 July 2024
  • There was also the feud with Brooks Koepka, which smacked of chauvinism run amok.
    — Dave Skretta, Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2024
  • For many in the region, such language smacks of a dangerous kind of weakness rather than strength.
    — Matt Bradley, NBC News, 14 Dec. 2023
  • This was, after all, what all great powers did, and the Spartan position smacked of hypocrisy.
    — Rohan Mukherjee, Foreign Affairs, 19 May 2023
  • Tawny brown with a khaki head, this mellow sipper smacks of plums, cocoa and buttered toast.
    — Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2023
  • Predictably, though, anything that smacks of cash payments gets far less support.
    — Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2023
  • In any other business, seeing the rank and file applaud the boss would smack of corporate fawning.
    — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2024
  • The dry version comes with a fortifying bowl of chicken and pork bone broth that smacks of roasted garlic.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
  • Even in its infancy, there was something in New York graffiti that smacked of Business Art.
    — Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
  • This vivacious pink and gold salad, with its array of textures and smack of citrus, lit up my winter evening.
    — Melissa Clark, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
  • Otherwise, my parting impression of the restaurant would have been a key lime tart where every aspect of the dessert smacked of having emerged from a can or a tub.
    — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
  • Grainy bars of duck breast set off with orange segments come with apples poached in saffron syrup, which sounds intriguing but smacks of old perfume.
    — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
  • The upshot is that the child of a sitting President is facing a possible twenty-five-year prison sentence for a charge that smacks of theatre and opportunism.
    — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 10 June 2024
  • Redolent of white flowers, fresh peach and apricot, on the palate, the wine is tropical-fruited, full-bodied and complex, smacking of tangerine, melon and spices.
    — Lana Bortolot, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
  • The chief’s comments smack of respectability politics, Reedy said.
    — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2023
  • The idea is to build expertise in home countries rather than needing Americans to parachute in when problems are detected, which takes too long and smacks of colonialism.
    — Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2024
  • Allocating resources for anticipated growth that may or may not occur smacks of the kind of central planning that dooms many economies.
    — Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Feb. 2024
  • That move smacked of communism to the Truman administration during the anti-communist fervor of the time.
    — USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2023
  • His proposals smack of some of the most heated culture war conflicts shaping the election, from gay rights to gender identity to contraception.
    — Kff Health News, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024
  • Fingerling potatoes, grilled low and slow until their skins turned thick and crisp and separated from their velvety flesh, smacked of a campfire, except for a luscious green gloss of savory sabayon.
    — Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2023
  • But to fix the terms and conditions for practicing journalism by industry agreement smacks of price fixing in violation of the antitrust laws.
    — Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 12 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smack of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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