75 Words That Describe Smells – A Resource For Writers

Writers know that using the senses is a great way to make stories come alive. This post is about how writers could and should use words that describe smells.

Great writers use the five senses when they write. They make their stories real by allowing us to experience what their characters see, smell, hear, taste, and touch.

Using the senses is one of the best ways for writers to learn how to show and not tell.

I have written about words that describe taste, and touch, and sound in previous posts. We also have a post on words that describe colours. In this post, I am writing about words that describe smells.

About Smell

A smell is ‘the pleasant or unpleasant quality of something that you notice when you breathe in through your nose’. To smell is ‘to notice or recognise the smell of something’.

The Power Of Smell

Smell is one of the most powerful senses.

1. It can transport us back in time in a moment. The sense of smell is more closely linked with memory than any of the other senses.
2. It also evokes emotions. Smell is one of the most important reasons people are attracted to each other.
3. It is one of our most important survival mechanisms. A bad smell warns us that we are in danger, for example, when we smell smoke or rotten food.

Writing Tip

Because of this power, writers can use the sense of smell to show a character‘s background, or to move a plot forward.

Quite Interesting:

1. You can say ‘I smelled’ or ‘I smelt’ if you are using the past tense of the verb. ‘Smelt’ is more commonly used in British spelling and ‘smelled’ is used in US spelling.
2. If you lose your sense of smell you can feel isolated and cut-off from the world. The loss of the sense of smell can ‘affect one’s ability to form and maintain close personal relationships and can lead to depression’.
3. Anosmia refers to the total loss of the sense of smell.

75 Words That Describe Smells

General Words Describing Smells

Use these words that describe smells when you are setting a scene.

1. anosmic – odourless, no smell at all
2. antiseptic – disinfectant smell / or no smell
3. aroma – a smell that is strong but pleasant
4. comforting – pleasant aroma
5. delicate – subtle, faint, smell that is not overpowering
6. evocative – a smell that makes you think of something, often something that you experienced in the past
7. faint – a smell that is not strong
8. fragrance – a sweet or pleasant odour
9. heady – strongly aromatic, pungent, rich, intoxicating, spicy, piquant – not a mild smell
10. heavy – a sweet and strong smell
11. intoxicating – A smell that exhilarates, disorients, or excites
12. laden – a literary word that describes a strong smell
13. odour/odor (US spelling) – a smell
14. odorous – a strong smell
15. odourless – with no smell
16. piquant – stinging, pungent, an aroma that tickles the nose.
17. powerful –  a strong smell
18. redolent – smelling of something
19. reek – to smell strongly and unpleasantly
20. scent – a particular smell, especially a pleasant one
21. whiff – a slight smell of something

Words That Describe Unpleasant Smells

1. acrid – a smell that is strong, bitter, and unpleasant in your nose and throat
2. damp – a wet smell
3. fetid – an unpleasant smell, usually caused by decay
4. frowsty – an unpleasant smell caused by a lack of fresh air
5. funky – a strong and unpleasant smell
6. fusty – smells old, dusty, or damp
7. high – an old-fashioned word that describes a strong flavour and smell
8. malodorous – scented, aromatic, redolent, fragrant, stinking.
9. musty – unpleasant, stale, and not fresh
10. nasty – unpleasant smell
11. nauseating – a smell that causes disgust, loathing, or revulsion
12. noisome – extremely unpleasant, especially because of being very dirty or having a bad smell
13. overpowering  – very strong smell
14. pungent – a smell that is strong and sharp
15. putrid – decaying and smelling very bad
16. rancid – rancid food is no longer fresh and has an unpleasant smell
17. rank – a strong unpleasant smell or taste
18. ripe – a strong or unpleasant smell
19. sickly – makes you feel sick
20. smelly – an unpleasant smell
21. sour – a taste or smell that is no longer fresh
22. stale – not fresh or pleasant
23. stench  – a very bad smell, especially of decay
24. stinking – an unpleasant smell
25. stuffy – a smell caused by an area with no fresh air in it

Words That Describe Pleasant Smells

1. ambrosial – sweet smelling, fragrant, aromatic
2. aromatic – perfumed, fragrant, scented, sweet smelling, pungent, usually pleasing
3. bouquet – the particular smell of a wine or flower
4. delicious – a pleasant smell
5. fresh – a pleasant, newly made smell that can be clean, clear, cool, crisp, refreshing, sweet, warm
6. fragrant – with a pleasant smell
7. perfumed – pleasant to smell because perfume has been added or used, or it has a natural perfume
8. rich – a smell that is strong in a pleasant way
9. savoury/savory (US Spelling) – pleasant to  taste – spicy, pungent, flavoursome, and aromatic, salty but not sweet
10. scented – a pleasant smell
11. sweet  – a pleasant smell that is sweet
12. tangy – a smell or taste that is strong and bitter in a pleasant way

Words That Smell Like Something

1. citrusy – characteristic of citrus fruit in scent
2. coppery – smelling of copper
3. earthy – smelling like earth
4. fishy – smelling like fish
5. floral – smelling of flowers
6. flowery – a flowery smell reminds you of flowers
7. fruity – smelling like fruit
8. gamy – having the distinctive fragrance of game
9. garlicky – smelling of garlic
10. leathery – smells like leather
11. lemony – smells like lemon
12. medicinal – smells like medicine
13. minty – smelling of mint
14. musky – similar to musk in smell
15. peachy – similar to a peach in colour, taste, or smell
16. smoky – smelling of smoke
17. woody – an earthy smell, smelling of wood

Top Tip: Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop.

 by Amanda Patterson

© Amanda Patterson

If you enjoyed this post, read:

1. 106 Ways To Describe Sounds
2. 20 Words Used To Describe Specific Tastes And Flavours
3. 209 Words To Describe Touch
4. Three Simple Ways To Show And Not Tell
5. 12 Crucial Things To Remember About Setting
6. Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language
7. 20 Fun Ways To Find An Idea For A Plot
8. Where Should You Begin Your Memoir?
9. Use These 7 Gaslighting Phrases To Make Your Antagonist More Manipulative

Sources:
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/smelling-unpleasant
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/pleasant-smells
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/smelling-like-a-particular-thing
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/describing-smells-and-lack-of-smell
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/descriptive-words-for-scents.html
https://world-food-and-wine.com/describing-aroma

Top Tip: Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop.

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