ESL Podcast 543 - Describing Different Smells
to renovate - to improve a room or building by rebuilding, expanding, and/or redecorating it
They're going to renovate their house by adding another bathroom.
stale - not fresh; old and used
The bread won't become stale as quickly if we keep it in a closed plastic bag.
musty - slightly wet and bad-smelling because something hasn't had enough air moving around it
The basement is really musty. Would it help to put a fan down there?
to air (something) out - to make air move around something so that it becomes fresher and better-smelling
If you don't have time to wash your gym socks, at least air them out before you put them back on.
putrid - dead and decaying, with a very bad smell
They couldn't understand why their entryway had such a putrid smell until they found the dead rat under their front porch.
faint - very slight; almost unnoticeable; barely
Can you hear that music? It's very faint, but you can hear it if you stand very still.
nasty - very unpleasant and disgusting; gross
Why would anyone want to live in such a nasty apartment building?
to permeate - to be present in every part of something; to be found throughout something
The sound of laughter permeates the air at school during recess.
burnt - damaged by fire; damaged by being burned
After the fire, a few pieces of burnt wood were all that was left of the building.
smoky - with a lot of the smelly, hot, grey air that is produced by a fire
Let's open the flue in the chimney before we start the fire, or else the whole room will get smoky.
to hold (one's) breath - to not breathe, usually to avoid smelling something or to avoid making a noise
When we go in there, hold your breath! The air is full of poisonous gases.
truckload - the amount that would fill one truck; the amount of something that can be carried by one truck; a large amount
They used two truckloads of river rocks to decorate the area in front of the building.
scented - with a pleasant smell
Do you like to use scented soap when you take a bath?
perfume - a liquid with a strong, pleasant smell, used by women to make themselves more attractive, usually placed on the wrists and neck
The smell of her perfume quickly filled the elevator, and people began to cough.
to mask - to cover something else; to make it impossible to see, smell, hear, or perceive something else
Yu-Lin tried to use makeup to mask her acne.
foul - very unpleasant
We went to that restaurant last week, and we were served the foulest food we'd ever tasted. It was horrible!
to stink - to have a very bad smell
That blue cheese stinks! I don't know how you can eat it.
sense of smell - the ability to smell things and/or to recognize something by its smell
Dogs have a great sense of smell, so police officers use them to help find drugs in suitcases at airports.