Over 150 Smells and 50 Smelly Adjectives to Help Add Dimension to Your Writing.

There are often times I’ll be writing a scene and I want to include an odor or scent but my mind goes completely blank. How is it that the only smell I can readily recall is garlic and Axe deodorant?

It’s crazy to think that we’re surrounded 24/7 by smells–good and bad– that we don’t even acknowledge let alone transfer to our writing.

Here’s a list that may spark a memory for you or help you along the way to writing a complete and visceral scene. Each can be taken and expanded upon.

If there’s any you’d like to add, please leave me a message and together we’ll compose a great and smelly list!

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Around Us…

• the sea air
• fresh mowed grass
• the smell of home
• the beach
• chlorine at the public pool
• the air before it snows
• sulphur
• cigarette smoke
• cigar smoke
• pipe smoke
• chimney smoke
• wet dog
• new car smell
• camp fire
• fast food restaurant
• insense
• body odor
• Fresh paint
• baby-freshly bathed
• Dirty diaper

• gasoline
• grease
• dirty socks
• dirty sweaty feet
• someone who just finished a cigarette/cigar
• a dirty ashtray
• beer–fresh and stale
• wine
• liquor–whiskey; bourbon;
• essential oils–too many to list
• leather
• old books
• mothballs
• musty dampness like in a basement
• Vicks vapo-rub
• Grandpa’s muscle ointment/cream
• smog
• felt pens
• bubblegum
• marijuana
• rotten eggs
• spices: cinnamon, thyme, pepper, nutmeg, anise, curry, cumin, basil
• campfire
• apple pie
• fresh rain
• car back fire
• cheese: parmesan, blue,
• vinegar
• apple cider vinegar
• fresh lit match
• eucalyptus
• fire crackers
• burning rubber
• burning flesh
• suntan lotion
• trees: pine, fir, cedar
• Christmas tree in the house
• the forest
• nail polish
• stagnant water
• perms
• flowers: lavender, roses, jasmine, clematis, lily, geranium, hyacinth, lilac
• chewing gum: ie juicy fruit
• vanilla
• fresh washed hair/body
• farts
• genitalia
• urine
• feces
• manure
• dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, butter
• scented soaps, shampoos
• cleaning supplies
• fresh tilled soil
• musk
• vomit
• mold and mildew
• garbage
• death
• disease
• hospital
• retirement home
• prison
• car
• bathroom
• public toilet
• outhouse
• other people’s homes
• hotel room
• gym
• change rooms
• dentist office
• money
• alcohol breath
• toothpaste
• halitosis
• baby powder
• plastics
• natural gas
• diesel
• bleach
• hydrogen Peroxide
• burps
• cold air
• wet concrete
• hay bale
• animals: horse, cow, goat, dog, cat.
• maple syrup
• chocolate
• unwashed or damp laundry
• wood chips
• personal inherited scent/Family scent
• sawdust
• fresh laundry
• sex
• rotten meat
• perfume, Aftershave
• burnt potatoes
• fresh air

By adding smell to your writing it can take it to the next level.

Try to think outside the box.

Adjectives to describe a smell include:

• Heavy
• Pungent
• Putrid
• Fetid
• Bouquet
• Dank
• Fresh
• Pleasant
• Mouth watering
• Cheap
• Choking
• Floral
• Woodsy
• Intoxicating
• Spicy
• Rancid
• Eye watering
• Wild
• Exotic
• Overpowering
• Crisp
• Stale
• Repulsive
• Redolent
• Masculine/Feminine
• Earthy
• Other worldly
• Close
• Pervasive
• Invasive
• Unpleasant
• Distinct
• Medicinal
• Metallic
• Greasy
• Fragrant
• Plasticky or fake
• Overripe
• Ripe
• Faint
• Chemically
• Mild
• Heady
• Rancid
• Acidic
• Sweet
• Oppressive
• Past its prime
• Foul
• Sour
• Funky

So, I’m fresh out of smells now!

Can you think of anymore? Leave me a message and I’ll add them onto the list–would be great to get up to at least 200! I don’t want to name each fruit or flower though so looking for something that isn’t on the list. Can’t wait to hear more!

Additions:

• cinnamon buns or Cinnabon
• sandalwood incense
• sage burning
• wet pine
• rosemary

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