Descriptive Words for Scents

First, let’s look at the word “scent.” It can mean “odor”; “an odor left behind”, like when dogs follow a scent; or “perfume.” Synonyms for the word “scent” include: fragrance, smell, aroma, aura, balm, bouquet, essence, fragrance, incense, odorize, perfume, pheromone, redolence, and whiff. Antonyms would be: stench, stink, and deodorize.

Some descriptive words for scents refer to what made the smell or what it smells like. For example: doggy, lemon, lemony, lilac, lime, mildewed, mint, minty, moldy, pine, plastic, rose, skunky, and woodsy,

Most descriptive words for scents tell the way it smells or what the smell represents. hese are words like: acid, acrid, airy, biting, clean, crisp, dirty, earthy, faint, feminine, fetid, fishy, fresh, floral, flowery, light, loamy, masculine, moist, musty, nauseating, perfumed, pungent, putrid, rancid, redolent, repulsive, rotten, sharp, sour, spicy, spoiled, stale, stinking, sweaty, sweet, tart, and wispy.

Stop and Smell the Roses

Now that you have some descriptive words for scents, maybe you want to know why some flowers smell so good and others don’t. Well, there’s a reason for that. Flowers have to attract pollinators, like birds and insects. They attract by sight, smell, or both. Some plants actually smell like dead meat to attract the insects for pollination. Flowers that attract nocturnal pollinators, like bats or moths, don’t need showy colors, just a good scent. Usually their flowers are white.

Imitation is used by some flowers in scent, color, and shape. The flowers will mimic the shape and color of a female insect, and the smell will resemble the female’s scent, so that attracts the male insect.

The scent of many flowers also smells good to us. Some of the most fragrant are: freesia, gardenias, ginger lilies, honeysuckle, hyacinth, jasmine, lilac, magnolia, moonflower, osmanthus, plumeria, and of course, roses.

Aromatherapy and Essential Oils

You hear a lot about aromatherapy today, especially if someone is trying to sell you something. Let’s explore the field of aromatherapy and see which odors produce what effects. Aromatherapy uses plant oils for their physical and psychological benefits. This includes the essential oils.

Essential oils are called essential because they are the essence of a plant taken from its leaves, roots, flowers, bark, stems, or other parts. Sometimes, the term “essential oil” is a blanket term that covers the essential oils, absolutes, carbon dioxide extracts, and hydrosols that are all used in aromatherapy. These oils are usually distilled with water or steam and are actually not “oily” feeling.

Essential oils are so concentrated that they cannot be applied directly to the skin. They need a carrier, like a cold pressed vegetable oil. Common ones are: apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, evening primrose oil, jojoba, sunflower oil, and grapeseed oil.

Benefits of Aromatherapy

You can receive benefits to your emotional and physical state from aromatherapy. They are not a miracle cure, but can really help you. Because essential oils evaporate quickly, they are easy to inhale. They trigger certain responses in the brain which in turn, effects your emotions. Following are just a few of the over 100 oils and how they benefit you.

Clary Sage: helps clear your mind and de-stress, decreases swelling, helps you sleep, pain relief, stimulates memory
Eucalyptus: increase alertness and concentration, detoxifies, anti-inflammatory, clears sinuses, removes odor
Geranium: anti-inflammatory, improves circulation and memory, relieves stress and anxiety
Lavender: calms and relieves headaches, stress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia; improves memory
Lemon: It has anti-viral, antibiotic, and antibacterial properties; helps circulation and headaches; good for depression; improves memory and moods
Peppermint: deodorizes the air, increases alertness, has anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties
Sandalwood: good for insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression; helps with respiratory ailments; is an antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic
Tea Tree: its properties include antiviral, antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory; also good for the sinuses
Ylang Ylang: stimulates endorphin production, is a sedative, helps circulation, relaxes, relieves anxiety

Descriptive Words for Scents