odoriferous
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does odoriferous mean? Odoriferous means having a strong smell. Describing something as odoriferous doesn’t always mean it smells bad, but it usually does. The same thing goes for its close synonym odorous. Both are based on the word odor, meaning a smell. Example: After gym class, the locker room turns into an odoriferous chamber of sweat and smelly socks.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of odoriferous
1425–75; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin odōriferus “smelling of (something),” equivalent to odōr- odor + -i- -i- + -ferus -ferous
Explanation
Something that's odoriferous carries a smell. When you hear someone use the word odoriferous, just hope they're not referring to your breath or armpits. Odoriferous is made up of the word odor, meaning smell and the Latin ferre meaning "to carry." Something that's odoriferous certainly carries a smell whether it's onions or roses or a pile of dog poop. Odoriferous has a less well-known second meaning; something that does not take your morals into consideration can also be odoriferous, or morally offensive. Many people consider animal testing odoriferous because of the harm it does to animals. They might call it odoriferous, or they might say it just plain stinks.
Vocabulary lists containing odoriferous
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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Smell Words
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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.
Researchers surveyed 53 species and found a cluster of genes in the most rank-smelling species, and in other odoriferous plants as well.
From Salon • May 27, 2025
“We had to find another solution for the Parisian market, which is the biggest,” said Demond, slicing open the packing tape on a Styrofoam box of durian, the odoriferous East Asian fruit.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2023
I also carried with me tested intentions and temptations to lose some weight while walking within intimate odoriferous range of Dick’s Drive-In on Northeast 45th Street.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2019
The mille crepe cake also comes in matcha and durian flavors — the latter is made with the notoriously odoriferous fruit that’s not for the faint of heart.
From Washington Post • Dec. 17, 2018
Or, truth tolt, they don’t get upset by being odoriferous their own selfs.
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
