Synonyms

flavor

American

[fley-ver] / ˈfleɪ vər /

especially British, flavour

noun

taste, especially the distinctive taste of something as it is experienced in the mouth.
a substance or extract that provides a particular taste; flavoring.

Synonyms:

seasoning
the characteristic quality of a thing.

He captured the flavor of the experience in his book.

Synonyms:

spirit, essence
a particular quality noticeable in a thing.

language with a strong nautical flavor.
Physics. any of the six labels given to the distinct kinds of quark: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top.
Archaic. smell, odor, or aroma.

verb (used with object)

to give flavor to (something).

flavor Scientific

/ flā′vər /

Any of six classifications of quark varieties, distinguished by mass and electric charge. The flavors have the names up, down, strange, charm, top, and bottom. Protons in atomic nuclei are composed of two up quarks and one down quark, while neutrons consist of one up quark and two down quarks. The flavor of a quark may be changed in interactions involving the weak force.

Related Words

See taste.

Other Word Forms

deflavor verb (used with object)
flavorless adjective
overflavor verb
preflavor noun
unflavored adjective
well-flavored adjective

Etymology

Origin of flavor

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French fla(o)ur, from unattested Late Latin flātor “stench, breath,” alteration of Latin flātus a “blowing, breathing,” ( flatus ), perhaps with -or of fētor fetor

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

While potassium salt has a similar flavor, it can develop a slightly bitter taste when heated.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

More acquisitions followed, as the company branched into packaging, frozen foods and flavor ingredients, all while continuing to add to its spice portfolio.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Helplessness is the flavor of the week, the month, the year.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026

Now, a decade and a half later, it’s kind of astonishing to see how much more nuanced things have become — blends that actually account for texture, flavor, and how you’ll use them.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2026

Use the same flavor for a solid lolly, or different flavors for a striped lolly.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023