flavor

[ fley-ver ]

/ ˈfleɪ vər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flavor ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

the characteristic quality of a thing: He captured the flavor of the experience in his book.

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).

Nearby words

flavone, flavonoid, flavonol, flavoprotein, flavopurpurin, flavor, flavor enhancer, flavor of the month, flavored, flavorful, flavorfully

Also especially British, fla·vour.

Origin of flavor

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French fla(o)ur < Late Latin *flātor stench, breath, alteration of Latin flātus a blowing, breathing, (see flatus), perhaps with -or of fētor fetor

SYNONYMS FOR flavor

1 See taste.

2 seasoning.

3 essence, spirit.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flavor ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

fla·vor·less, adjectivede·fla·vor, verb (used with object)o·ver·fla·vor, verbpre·fla·vor, noun, verb (used with object)

un·fla·vored, adjectivewell-fla·vored, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flavor

Tosi has been using cereal milk as a flavor ever since 2007, and she says it taps into a universal “memory sensor.”
Cereal Cafe’s Big Bowl of Hate|David Levesley|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While the flavor is nowhere near as popular as the original, 10 percent of the one million cases of Zima sold each year are pink.
In Japan, Zima Haz No Zexual Preference|Jake Adelstein, Angela Erika Kubo|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yeah, you get a flavor of his brutality, you get a flavor of his family life, you get a flavor of him helping the people.
Gangster in Paradise: Benicio Del Toro Is Pablo Escobar|Alex Suskind|September 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Whether the faith-based wave will be a long-term trend, or just another Hollywood flavor of the month remains to be seen.
Bible Flicks Move Beyond the B-List|Lewis Beale|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Basically any quality of weed will do, since the extraction of THC is the point and not the flavor or loftiness of effect.
This Is Your E-Cigarette on Drugs|Daniel Genis|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This swinging in the pan dissolves the flavor, which solidifies in the bottom of the pan; it greatly improves the sauce.
American Cookery|Various
The more rapidly it cools, the more delicate will be its flavor, and the better it will keep.
Science in the Kitchen.|Mrs. E. E. Kellogg
Thin with sweet milk, flavor with ginger and spices, or vanilla can be used.
The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book|Victor Hirtzler
Cook slowly until tender; rapid boiling evaporates the flavor.
Student's Hand-book of Mushrooms of America, Edible and Poisonous|Thomas Taylor
The flavor of vengeance was hot in my mouth, and filled me with delirious satisfaction.
Vendetta|Marie Corelli

Word Origin and History for flavor (1 of 2)

flavor

c.1300, "a smell, odor" (usually a pleasing one), from Old French flaour "smell, odor," from Vulgar Latin flator "odor," literally "that which blows," from Latin flator "blower," from flare "to blow, puff," which is cognate with Old English blawan (see blow (v.1)).

The same Vulgar Latin source produced Old Italian fiatore "a bad odor." Sense of "taste, savor" is 1690s, perhaps 1670s; originally "the element in taste which depends on the sense of smell." The -v- is perhaps from influence of savor.

Word Origin and History for flavor (1 of 2)

flavor

1730s, from flavor (n.). Related: Flavored; flavoring.

Science definitions for flavor

flavor

[ 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.

flavor

noun

verb (used with object)

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Origin of flavor

Examples from the Web for flavor

Word Origin and History for flavor (1 of 2)

flavor

Word Origin and History for flavor (1 of 2)

flavor

Science definitions for flavor

flavor