Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A medical condition in which olfactory hallucinations. A form of parosmia in which the perceived smell is caused apparently randomly rather than by a different smell.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word phantosmia.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • The phenomenon of smelling odors that aren't really present. The most common odors are unpleasant smells such as rotting flesh, vomit, feces, smoke, etc. Phantosmia often results from damage to the nervous tissue in the olfactory system. (Wikipedia)

    June 7, 2008

  • I sometimes have this kind of olfactory hallucination, while thinking of a specific odor, perfume, whatever. It also happens with sounds - sometimes it's hard to realize I actually didn't smell/hear it for real.

    June 7, 2008

  • Phantosmia is an olfactory hallucination--specifically, the phenomenon of smelling odors that aren't really present. The most common odors are unpleasant smells such as rotting flesh, vomit, urine, feces, smoke, etc.

    January 17, 2009