What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Odor vs Smelling - What's the difference?

odor | smelling |

As nouns the difference between odor and smelling

is that odor is any smell, whether fragrant or offensive; scent; perfume while smelling is the act by which something is smelled.

As a verb smelling is

.

odor

English

(wikipedia odor)

Alternative forms

* odour

Noun

  • Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive; scent; perfume.
  • * 1895 , H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter X
    • Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing. Yet oddly enough I found here a far more unlikely substance, and that was camphor. I found it in a sealed jar, that, by chance, I supposed had been really hermetically sealed. I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odour of camphor was unmistakable.
  • (figuratively) A strong, pervasive quality.
  • Esteem; repute.

    • Usage notes

    In the United States, the term "odor" often has a negative connotation. Preferred terms for a pleasant odor are "fragrance", "scent", or "aroma".

    Synonyms

    * (any smell) perfume, scent * (esteem) esteem, repute * See also

    Derived terms

    * odorous * odorously * odorousness

    Anagrams

    * ----

    smelling

    English

    Verb

    (head)
    • foul-smelling (having a foul smell)
    sweet-smelling (having a sweet smell)

    Derived terms

    * smelling salts

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act by which something is smelled.
  • * 2004 , Timothy D. J. Chappell, Reading Plato's Theaetetus (page 73)
    • To such perceivings we give names like these: seeings, hearings, smellings , chillings and burnings, pleasures and pains, desires