English has a lot of “smell words” related to what we sense with our noses. They each have a distinct meaning that I will explain in this post.
smell is a neutral word about something you sense with your nose
Nothing is better than the smell of the morning wind.
= I like the thing I sense in the morning with my nose.
Your car still has the new car smell.
= I still sense this specific smell in this car.
stench is a negative word about strong smells
Many people do not like fermented foods because of the stench.
= People do not like the strong bad smell of fermented foods.
I smell a stench coming from the sink.
= A strong and bad smell is coming out of the sink.
odor is a negative word about distinct smells
That man smells like body odor.
= I can sense the distinct smell of sweat, not bathing, etc.
I only buy odorless cleaning supplies.
= I only buy things to clean that write that they do not have any smell on the box.
stink is a negative word about mild smells
The stink of the toilets is why I don’t want to go back.
= The bad smell in the bathroom is the reason I won’t return.
When we walked in, we noticed the stink came from under the bed.
= We felt that the bad smell came from the underside of the bed.
aroma is a positive word about strong smells
The aroma of cookies filled the hallways.
= The delicious smell of cookies were all over the halls.
Your new perfume has a sweet aroma that I love.
= In your perfume, I smell something very sweet.
scent is a positive word about soft smells
He gives the scent of a man.
= He gives the soft smell that men give.
I smell the faint scent of cinnamon in your bedroom.
= There is a soft smell of cinnamon in your bedroom.
Verbs: smell, stink, & reek
smell +[adjective] can be positive or negative depending on the attached adjective
This cake smells sweet like fruits. (positive)
The bathroom smells awful. (negative)
smell without any adjective has a negative meaning
You smell.
= You smell bad.
Something smells in your room.
= I sense a bad smell in your room.
smell is the only one that can be transitive, the only one that can have an object
I smell food.
Do you smell the rotting food?
stink is always negative
You stink.
= You smell bad.
Your dog stinks. You need to wash him.
= Your dog smells bad.
reek is negative and stronger than stink
The bathroom reeks.
= The bathroom smells VERY bad.
Your dirty socks reek.
= Your socks smell VERY bad.
This group is important for daily English. We talk about what we sense every day, and for that we need all these smell words. Most of these words are negative, but we have a few positive nouns.
You can see more English explanations on this website. You can also find more information on language learning on my YouTube channel.
Keep on learning English! If you improve your language skills, you will smell better…
