olfaction

[ ol-fak-shuhn, ohl- ]

/ ɒlˈfæk ʃən, oʊl- /

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noun

the act of smelling.

the sense of smell.

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Origin of olfaction

1840–50; <Latin olfact(us) past participle of olfacere to smell (see olfactory) + -ion

Words nearby olfaction

olestra, olethreutid, oleum, O level, oleyl alcohol, olfaction, olfactometer, olfactometry, olfactory, olfactory bulb, olfactory lobe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use olfaction in a sentence

They’re able to make finer distinctions in terms of their olfaction.
The U.S. Is Just Different — So Let’s Stop Pretending We’re Not (Ep. 469)|Stephen J. Dubner|July 15, 2021|Freakonomics
Converts say developing our olfaction can make us think differently and even speak and write more vividly.
The surprising business advantage of training your sense of smell|Anne Quito|May 6, 2021|Quartz
The working theory I had was that the receptors for pheromones were closely related to those for olfaction.
Catherine Dulac Finds Brain Circuitry Behind Sex-Specific Behaviors|Claudia Dreifus|December 14, 2020|Quanta Magazine
In contrast with color vision and sound, the stimulus in olfaction is multidimensional, not low-dimensional.
Our Mind-Boggling Sense of Smell - Issue 91: The Amazing Brain|Ann-Sophie Barwich|October 14, 2020|Nautilus

Details about the synthetic smell may help answer “fundamental questions in olfaction,” says computational biologist Saket Navlakha of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, who wasn’t involved in the study.
How to make a mouse smell a smell that doesn’t actually exist|Laura Sanders|June 18, 2020|Science News
As the sole factor in sexual selection olfaction must be rare.
Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 4 (of 6)|Havelock Ellis

British Dictionary definitions for olfaction

olfaction

/ (ɒlˈfækʃən) /

noun

the sense of smell

the act or function of smelling

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