verb
- past tense of flehmen; (of an animal, especially a cat or ungulate) to curl the upper lip and inhale air through the mouth to detect scents, typically in response to pheromones or other odors
Usage: zoology; ethology; often used in animal behavior contexts
Examples
- The cat flehmened when it caught the scent of another animal.
- The stallion flehmened in response to the mare's pheromones.
- She observed the goat flehmened as it investigated the unfamiliar smell.
- When the dog flehmened, its upper lip curled back slightly.
- The big cat flehmened repeatedly, analyzing the scent in the air.