hyperosmia

American

[hahy-per-oz-mee-uh] / ˌhaɪ pərˈɒz mi ə /

noun

Pathology.

an abnormally acute sense of smell.

hyperosmia British

/ ˌhaɪpəˈɒzmɪə /

noun

an abnormally acute sense of smell

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

hyperosmic adjective

Etymology

Origin of hyperosmia

1830–35; hyper- + Greek osm(ḗ) “smell” + -ia -ia ( def. )

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.

Milne, a 72-year-old retired nurse from Perth, Scotland, has hereditary hyperosmia, a condition that endows people with a hypersensitivity to smell.

From Scientific American

Hyperosmia is an increase in the perception of smell, which rarely occurs in persons other than the hysteric and insane.

From Project Gutenberg

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