odor

[ oh-der ]

/ ˈoʊ dər /

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See synonyms for: odor / odorless on Thesaurus.com

noun

the property of a substance that activates the sense of smell: to have an unpleasant odor.

a sensation perceived by the sense of smell; scent.

an agreeable scent; fragrance.

a disagreeable smell.

a quality or property characteristic or suggestive of something: An odor of suspicion surrounded his testimony.

repute: in bad odor with the whole community.

Archaic. something that has a pleasant scent.

OTHER WORDS FOR odor

3 aroma, redolence, perfume.

See synonyms for odor on Thesaurus.com

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Also especially British, o·dour .

Origin of odor

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin

synonym study for odor

3. Odor, smell, scent, stench all refer to sensations perceived through the nose by the olfactory nerves. Odor and smell in literal contexts are often interchangeable. Figuratively, odor also usually occurs in positive contexts: the odor of sanctity. Smell is the most general and neutral of these two terms, deriving connotation generally from the context in which it is used: the tempting smell of fresh-baked bread; the rank smell of rotting vegetation. In figurative contexts smell may be either positive or negative: the sweet smell of success; a strong smell of duplicity pervading the affair. Scent refers either to delicate and pleasing aromas or to faint, barely perceptible smells: the scent of lilacs on the soft spring breeze; deer alarmed by the scent of man. Stench is strongly negative, referring both literally and figuratively to what is foul, sickening, or repulsive: the stench of rotting flesh; steeped in the stench of iniquity and treason.

OTHER WORDS FROM odor

o·dor·ful, adjectiveo·dor·less, adjective

Words nearby odor

odontoid process, odontolite, odontology, odontophore, odontorhynchous, odor, odorant, odoriferous, odorimetry, odoriphore, odorize

How to use odor in a sentence

It might seem obvious, but it will clear out a lot of lingering odors.
Working out at home? Here’s how to keep your house from smelling like a gym.|Harry Guinness|September 3, 2020|Popular-Science
They trained the mice so that the animals only licked a water spout when they “smelled” the artificial odor, generated by a light pattern and “unlikely to correspond to specific known chemical odorants” in nature, the team explained.
A Highway to Smell: How Scientists Used Light to Incept Smell in Mice|Shelly Fan|July 1, 2020|Singularity Hub
To make better sense of the data, the team then combined all their data into a mathematical model of our sense of odors.
A Highway to Smell: How Scientists Used Light to Incept Smell in Mice|Shelly Fan|July 1, 2020|Singularity Hub
The synthetic odor didn’t objectively exist, but the mice behaved as though they smelled it anyway, the researchers found.
How to make a mouse smell a smell that doesn’t actually exist|Laura Sanders|June 18, 2020|Science News

After “smelling” the synthetic odor, mice reliably licked the correct spout.
How to make a mouse smell a smell that doesn’t actually exist|Laura Sanders|June 18, 2020|Science News
They emit an odor that no human being should inhale, and yet you have.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And, typing that, it occurs to me how rarely we hear modern Americans use the word happy without an odor of irony.
What Did TJ Mean By “Pursuit of Happiness,” Anyway?|P. J. O’Rourke|June 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Sterling first bought the Ardmore, he remarked on its odor to Davenport.
Clippers Bigot Donald Sterling Doesn’t Want Blacks at ‘His Games’|Robert Silverman|April 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The odor wrenched the stomach and made one hesitant to breathe.
‘The Land of the Permanent Wave’ Is Bud Shrake’s Classic Take on ‘60s Texas|Edwin Shrake|February 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I could forgive Christie for Bridgegate if he could just eliminate this odor.
Bridgegate Looks Almost Good Next to New Jersey’s Other Embarrassments|Dean Obeidallah|January 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The fire crackled around the Dutch ovens, and the odor of coffee came floating by.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
The odor of Seton's cheroot announced itself above the oriental perfume with which the place was laden.
Dope|Sax Rohmer
A sour odor is normal for nursing infants, and is noted in mild diarrheas of older children.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
These cigars are usually pressed, and burn well, leaving a dark-colored ash, and emitting a fragrant odor.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The late roses and white lilies were in full bloom, the latter filling the air with a sweet odor and making a lovely background.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for odor

odor

/ (ˈəʊdə) /

noun

the US spelling of odour

Derived forms of odor

odorless, adjective

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

odor

OTHER WORDS FOR odor

Origin of odor

synonym study for odor

OTHER WORDS FROM odor

Words nearby odor

Words related to odor

How to use odor in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for odor

Derived forms of odor