How do we describe smells?

English lacks a robust vocabulary for describing specific scents, often relying on comparisons to objects or subjective labels like stinky and fragrant. Unlike the senses of taste, sight, or hearing—which utilize objective terms such as salty, visual, or auditory—olfactory descriptions are deeply personal and frequently shut down by parents during childhood development. Research by psychologist Asifa Majid suggests that while people in the UK discuss what they see and hear extensively, they rarely engage in detailed conversations about smell. Despite this linguistic gap, specific terms do exist for distinct aromas, such as petrichor for the scent of earth after rain, vellichor for the smell of old bookshops, and nidor for the aroma of cooking meat. Ultimately, the subjective nature of smell means that two people can experience the same scent as either pleasant or offensive without reaching an objective consensus.