anosmia

A1N1O1S1M3I1A1
UK/æˈnɒzmiə/US/æˈnɑːzmiːə/

noun

Inability to smell; the inability to perceive odors.

RareScrabble 9

Meanings

nounanosmia (countable and uncountable, plural anosmias)

plural anosmias

  1. countableuncountableInability to smell; the inability to perceive odors.

    Often accompanied by an inability to taste, anosmia occurs abruptly and dramatically in these patients, almost as if a switch had been flipped.

    2021 January 2, Roni Caryn Rabin, “Some Covid Survivors Haunted by Loss of Smell and Taste”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    1 more example

    The survey also showed that odor blindness—known as specific anosmia—to androstenone and Galaxolide are related. For the 1.3 percent of readers unable to smell any two odors, these two scents were paired with overwhelming frequency (92 percent). This result is new; in connecting these two specific anosmias, we may discover more about each.

    1987 October, Avery N. Gilbert and Charles J. Wysocki, “Results of the Smell Survey”, in National Geographic, volume 172, number 4, pages 516-517

    Synonyms: nose blindness, smell blindness

Synonyms & antonyms

nounInability to smell; the inability to perceive odors.

Origin

  1. New Latinanosmia
  2. Englishanosmia

From New Latin anosmia, equivalent to an- + -osmi.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan anòsmia
  • anòsmiainability to smell
Chinese Mandarin 嗅覺喪失 /嗅觉丧失
  • 嗅覺喪失 /嗅觉丧失 (xiùjuésàngshī)inability to smell
Czech anosmie, čichotupost
  • anosmieinability to smell
  • čichotupostinability to smell
Esperanto anosmio
  • anosmioinability to smell
Finnish anosmia
  • anosmiainability to smell
French anosmie
  • anosmieinability to smell
German Anosmie
  • Anosmieinability to smell
Greek ανοσμία
  • ανοσμία (anosmía)inability to smell
Hebrew תתרנות, תתרנית
  • תתרנותinability to smell
  • תתרניתinability to smell
Italian anosmia
  • anosmiainability to smell
Korean 후각상실
  • 후각상실 (hugaksangsil)inability to smell
Persian نابویایی
  • نابویاییinability to smell
Polish anosmia, bezwęch
  • anosmiainability to smell
  • bezwęchinability to smell
Portuguese anosmia
  • anosmiainability to smell
Russian аносмия
  • аносмия (anosmija)inability to smell
Spanish anosmia
  • anosmiainability to smell
Swedish anosmi
  • anosmiinability to smell
Turkish anozmi, koku kaybı
  • anozmiinability to smell
  • koku kaybıinability to smell
Urdu بطلان الشم, فقد الشم
  • بطلان الشم (butlān-ush-sham)inability to smell
  • فقد الشم (faqd-ush-sham)inability to smell

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

anosmia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anosmia

MLA

“anosmia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anosmia. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anosmia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anosmia.

Source: anosmia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.