Scents are a great way to convey emotion and detail. Vary the sensory words you use in your writing to bring a more convincing scene to life for your readers.
Fetid – Rotten, foul, stinking, fusty, squalid, moldy or sewage-like smell. Also, the smell of certain types of cheese that have gone bad.
Nature Words
There’s a lot of beauty to be found in nature, from towering mountains to delicate flowers. It’s important for writers to have a large vocabulary of nature words so they can paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. This way, the story will feel more alive and engaging.
The meanings of some nature words have changed dramatically over time, according to a recent linguistic study. For example, in the 1990s, when someone used the word “tweet,” it meant birdsong; however, by the 2010s, this referred to social media posts.
There are many other ways to describe the natural world, such as a pristine lake or a wild animal. Also, there are words to describe specific weather conditions and geological features. There are even terms for people who love nature, including nemophilist, greenie, dendrophile, shinrin-yoku and tree-hugger. This list of nature words includes both nouns and verbs, making it useful for any writer. Many of these words are derived from scientific words.
Food Words
Food words are useful to learn because they can help you express your ideas about preparing, shopping for and eating food. Learning these words can also be fun, especially if you have friends who share the same interest in English and food!
There are many ways to describe food, including its taste, texture and the way it was prepared. Some of these descriptions are more specific than others. For example, a person who wants to write about a dish that is cold might use the word “cooling” instead of “fresh.”
When writing about food, it’s important to be accurate. This can be a challenge because some words have multiple meanings and can change depending on the context in which they are used. For example, “fresh” might mean something different than “sweet.” These differences can confuse people who are reading menus and trying to make decisions about what to eat. A helpful tip is to always look up the meaning of a word before using it in a written context.
Bad Smells
Some smells are very bad, and the word stench can be used to describe them. It suggests something foul or repulsive and is often used figuratively. It may be a pungent odor such as rotting meat or fish, sewage, or the stinky corpse lily (Titan arum).
The words malodorous, stinking, fetid, noisome, putrid, fusty, and rank also suggest bad-smelling scents.
The sense of smell is important for detecting food, but can be disrupted by illness or injury. Diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and sinus infections may cause bad smells. Nasal polyps can also block your nose, and a medical professional can examine your nasal passages to see what might be causing them. Other causes of bad smells include hyposmia [high-posee-mee-ah] and anosmia [an-oz-MIE-ah]. The latter is a complete loss of the sense of smell. It is very rare.
Good Smells
You may have a personal list of favorite scents that make you smile or summon a happy memory. If you’re looking for a scent to help you feel more alert, try citrus (lemon or sweet orange) or peppermint essential oils. Other natural energizers include thyme, cinnamon and eucalyptus.
In a study, participants ranked 10 smells from most pleasant to least, and the most popular smell was vanillin, the chemical compound that gives vanilla its distinct aroma. The next most preferred smell was ethyl butyrate, a pineapple-like fragrance, followed by lavender and linalol’s floral and spicy odor found in many plants.
You know those people who always seem to smell good, no matter what they do? It’s not just a great shower routine, although that plays a part. It’s also the scents they wear. Some perfumes contain pheromones that act as a natural aphrodisiaci.
