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Showing results for olfactory. Search instead for olfactorily.
Synonyms

olfactory

American  
[ol-fak-tuh-ree, -tree, ohl-] / ɒlˈfæk tə ri, -tri, oʊl- /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the sense of smell.

    olfactory organs.

noun

plural

olfactories

  1. Usually olfactories. an olfactory organ.

  2. olfactory nerve.

olfactory British  
/ -trɪ, ɒlˈfæktərɪ /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the 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

noun

  1. (usually plural) an organ or nerve concerned with the 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
olfactory Scientific  
/ ŏl-făk′tə-rē,ōl- /

  1. Relating to or involving the organs or sense of smell.

olfactory Cultural  

  1. A descriptive term for the sense of smell.

Other Word Forms

  • nonolfactory adjective
  • olfactorily adverb

Etymology

Origin of olfactory

1650–60; < Latin olfactōrius, equivalent to olfac ( ere ) to smell at, sniff ( ol ( ēre ) to smell (akin to odor ) + facere to make, do) + -tōrius -tory 1

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.

The initial goal is to create a diagnostic test to measure olfactory loss—a marker of Covid-19 and other conditions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Then the team hopes to treat the problem by placing sensor chips in the patient’s olfactory tissue to help preserve or restore scent perception.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Village dogs showed enriched wolf ancestry in olfactory receptor genes, which may support their need to locate human food waste.

From Science Daily • Nov. 29, 2025

Each fragrance is infused with three natural ingredients — the synthetic molecules of aldehydes, alcohol from upcycled carbon emissions and water — to reach the “highest degree of olfactory clarity and expression.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2025

This happened often enough that it interrupted the proper workings of Mig’s olfactory senses.

From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo

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.