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Scent vs Essence - What's the difference?

scent | essence | Related terms |

As nouns the difference between scent and essence

is that scent is a distinctive odour or smell while essence is (inherent nature)The inherent nature of a thing or idea.

As a verb scent

is to detect the scent of.

scent

English

Alternative forms

* (obsolete)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A distinctive odour or smell.
  • the scent of flowers
    the scent of a skunk
  • An odour left by an animal that may be used for tracing.
  • The dogs lost the scent .
  • The sense of smell.
  • I believe the bloodhound has the best scent of all dogs.
  • A perfume.
  • (figuratively) Any trail or trace that can be followed to find something or someone.
  • Usage notes

    * Almost always applied to agreeable odors (fragrances ).

    Synonyms

    * fragrance * perfume * aroma * odor * smell

    Derived terms

    * scentless

    Verb

  • to detect the scent of
  • The hounds scented the fox in the woods.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Methinks I scent the morning air.
  • to impart an odour to
  • Scent the air with burning sage before you begin your meditation.
  • * Dryden
  • Balm from a silver box distilled around, / Shall all bedew the roots, and scent the sacred ground.
  • To have a smell.
  • * Holland
  • Thunderbolts do scent strongly of brimstone.
  • To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.
  • Anagrams

    * cents

    essence

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (senseid)The inherent nature of a thing or idea.
  • * Landor
  • The laws are at present, both in form and essence , the greatest curse that society labours under.
  • * Addison
  • Gifts and alms are the expressions, not the essence of this virtue [charity].
  • * Courthorpe
  • The essence of Addison's humour is irony.
  • (philosophy) The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.
  • Constituent substance.
  • * Milton
  • Uncompounded is their essence pure.
  • A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.
  • * Milton
  • As far as gods and heavenly essences / Can perish.
  • * Washington Irving
  • He had been indulging in fanciful speculations on spiritual essences , until he had an ideal world of his own around him.
  • A significant feature of something.
  • The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through a distillation process.
  • * essence of Jojoba
  • Fragrance, a perfume.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • Nor let the essences exhale.

    Derived terms

    * in essence * of the essence; time is of the essence

    Anagrams

    * ----