Standard Lemma guide

olfactory

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɒlˈfak.tə.ɹi/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɒlˈfak.tɹi/
  • General-American: /ɑlˈfæk.təɹ.i/
  • General-American: /oʊlˈfæk.təɹ.i/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æktəɹi
  • CMU ARPABET: OW0 L F AE1 K T ER0 IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Concerning the sense of smell.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, relational

Examples

  • Dogs possess a highly developed olfactory system.
  • The disease can impair olfactory function.
  • olfactory receptor
  • olfactory perception

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Ellipsis of olfactory organ.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Topics: anatomy, biology, medicine, natural-sciences, sciences, zoology, zootomy

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The sense of smell.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: in-plural

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

of or relating to olfaction

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: olfactive

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin olfactōrius.

Across languages

Translations

31 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: обонятелен (obonjatelen) — concerning the sense of smell
  • Catalan: olfactiu — concerning the sense of smell
  • Catalan: olfactori — concerning the sense of smell
  • Chinese Mandarin: 嗅的 (xiùde) — concerning the sense of smell
  • Czech: čichový — concerning the sense of smell
  • Dutch: olfactorisch — concerning the sense of smell
  • Finnish: haju- — concerning the sense of smell
  • Finnish: olfaktorinen — concerning the sense of smell
  • French: olfactif — concerning the sense of smell
  • German: geruchlich — concerning the sense of smell
  • German: olfaktorisch — concerning the sense of smell
  • Greek: οσφρητικός (osfritikós) — concerning the sense of smell
  • Hungarian: szaglószervi — concerning the sense of smell
  • Hungarian: szagló- — concerning the sense of smell
  • Indonesian: olfaktori — concerning the sense of smell
  • Indonesian: olfaktoris — concerning the sense of smell
  • Italian: olfattorio — concerning the sense of smell
  • Italian: olfattivo — concerning the sense of smell
  • Latin: olfactorius — concerning the sense of smell
  • Latin: olfactivus — concerning the sense of smell
  • Malay: penghiduan — concerning the sense of smell
  • Malay: olfaksi — concerning the sense of smell
  • Malay: olfaktori — concerning the sense of smell
  • Polish: węchowy — concerning the sense of smell
  • Portuguese: olfactório — concerning the sense of smell
  • Portuguese: olfatório — concerning the sense of smell
  • Portuguese: olfativo — concerning the sense of smell
  • Russian: обоня́тельный (obonjátelʹnyj) — concerning the sense of smell
  • Spanish: olfativo — concerning the sense of smell
  • Spanish: olfatorio — concerning the sense of smell
  • Swedish: luktsinnes- — concerning the sense of smell