olfactory
Americanadjective
noun
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
Explanation
Something olfactory has to do with the sense of smell. The odor from that factory is a symphony of olfactory delights. Not. Though we typically think of dogs as the olfactory champions of the world, what with their remarkable ability to sniff out practically anything, the true title belongs to the polar bear. Healthy, adult polar bears possess olfactory gifts that boggle the mind: they can smell a seal under the ice from over a kilometer away. One way to try to remember the meaning of the word olfactory is to think of factory. Your nose is the "factory" where odors are processed. What visual is to the eyes, olfactory is to the nose.
Vocabulary lists containing olfactory
Fahrenheit 451
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The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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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.
According to the researchers, smell-related problems arise when immune cells in the brain, known as "microglia," begin removing connections between two important regions: the olfactory bulb and the locus coeruleus.
From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2026
The locus coeruleus, found in the brainstem, helps regulate this process through long nerve fibers that extend to the olfactory bulb.
From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 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
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
A rabbit, it has been calculated, has something like 100 million olfactory receptors.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
