Definition

Noun: - The faculty or physical ability that enables humans and animals to perceive and distinguish odors through the nose. This is one of the five traditional senses, involving the detection of chemical molecules in the air.

Usage and Examples

• As a noun phrase describing the ability to smell:
  • Dogs have an incredibly acute sense of smell.
  • A cold can temporarily impair your sense of smell.
• Used to describe the act or experience of smelling:
  • The sense of smell is closely linked to memory.

Advanced Usage

• "A keen/acute sense of smell": Used to describe a highly sensitive olfactory ability.
  • Perfumers are trained to have a very keen sense of smell.
• "To lose one's sense of smell" (anosmia): A phrase describing the loss of this faculty.
  • After the accident, he completely lost his sense of smell.

Variants and Related Words

• Olfaction (n): The technical or scientific term for the sense of smell.
  • The study of olfaction is called olfactory science.
• Olfactory (adj): Relating to the sense of smell.
  • The olfactory nerves send signals to the brain.

Synonyms

• Smell (n): The faculty or power of perceiving odors. (Note: "smell" can also refer to an odor itself.)
• Olfactory sense: A more formal synonym.

Related Phrases and Collocations

• Sense of taste and smell: Often mentioned together as closely linked senses.
  • Food seems bland when your sense of taste and smell is diminished.

Noun

1. the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents