Olfaction: meaning, definitions and examples

Used in scientific or technical contexts to refer to the sense of smell.

• The study focused on the neurobiology of olfaction.
• Olfaction plays a critical role in detecting hazards in the environment.

A more general and versatile term that can be used in both casual and formal contexts to refer to the ability to detect scents.

• Her sense of smell is very acute, she can identify spices from afar.
• Losing your sense of smell can significantly impact your quality of life.

Used in everyday conversation to describe the act or process of detecting scents. It may have a somewhat negative connotation when describing personal hygiene.

• She was smelling the flowers in her garden.
• He was smelling really bad after the workout.

Repeated entry. Since no new context is provided, refer to the previous entry on 'olfaction'.

Used in detailed discussions about the anatomy and function of the sense of smell, especially in academic or scientific contexts.

• The olfactory system is comprised of different structures like the olfactory bulb and olfactory receptor neurons.
• Understanding the olfactory system is important for developing treatments for smell disorders.

Informal term, often used in everyday conversation or in less technical contexts, referring to the parts of the nose responsible for detecting smells.

• My nose sensors went into overdrive when I entered the bakery.
• Dogs have incredibly powerful nose sensors compared to humans.