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Essence vs. Scent — What's the Difference?

Essence vs. Scent — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Essence and Scent

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Essence

Essence (Latin: essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property that the entity or substance has contingently, without which the substance can still retain its identity.

Scent

A distinctive smell, especially one that is pleasant
The scent of freshly cut hay

Essence

The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, which determines its character
Conflict is the essence of drama

Scent

A trail indicated by the characteristic smell of an animal and perceptible to hounds or other animals
The hound followed the scent

Essence

An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter and used for flavouring or scent
Vanilla essence
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Scent

The faculty or sense of smell
The dog, having the help of scent as well as of sight

Essence

The intrinsic or indispensable quality or qualities that serve to characterize or identify something
The essence of democracy is the freedom to choose.

Scent

Impart a pleasant scent to
A glass of tea scented with a local herb

Essence

(Philosophy) The inherent, unchanging nature of a thing or class of things, especially as contrasted with its existence.

Scent

Discern by the sense of smell
A shark can scent blood from well over half a kilometre away

Essence

The most important part or aspect of something
The essence of her argument is that the policy is wrongheaded.

Scent

A distinctive, often agreeable odor.

Essence

An extract that has the fundamental properties of a substance in concentrated form.

Scent

A perfume
An expensive French scent.

Essence

Such an extract in a solution of alcohol.

Scent

An odor left by the passing of an animal.

Essence

A perfume or scent.

Scent

The trail of a hunted animal or fugitive
The hounds are on the scent.

Essence

One that has or shows an abundance of a quality as if highly concentrated
A neighbor who is the essence of hospitality.

Scent

The sense of smell
A bear's keen scent.

Essence

Something that exists, especially a spiritual or incorporeal entity.

Scent

A hint of something imminent; a suggestion
Caught the scent of a reconciliation.

Essence

The inherent nature of a thing or idea.

Scent

To perceive or identify by the sense of smell
Dogs scenting their prey.

Essence

(philosophy) The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.

Scent

To suspect or detect
Scented danger.

Essence

Constituent substance.

Scent

To fill with a pleasant odor; perfume
When blossoms scent the air.

Essence

A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.

Scent

To hunt prey by means of the sense of smell. Used of hounds.

Essence

A significant feature of something.

Scent

A distinctive smell.
The scent of flowers / of a skunk
To give off / release / exude a scent
To breathe in / inhale a scent

Essence

The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through a distillation process.
Essence of Jojoba

Scent

A smell left by an animal that may be used for tracing.
The dogs picked up / caught the scent but then quickly lost it.

Essence

An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring, or as a restorative.
Vanilla essence

Scent

The sense of smell.
I believe the bloodhound has the best scent of all dogs.

Essence

Fragrance, a perfume.

Scent

A substance (usually liquid) created to provide a pleasant smell.
A scent shop
A scent bazaar

Essence

The constituent elementary notions which constitute a complex notion, and must be enumerated to define it; sometimes called the nominal essence.

Scent

(figuratively) Any trail or trace that can be followed to find something or someone, such as the paper left behind in a paperchase.
The minister's off-hand remark put journalists on the scent of a cover-up.
The tip put the detectives on a false / the wrong scent.

Essence

The constituent quality or qualities which belong to any object, or class of objects, or on which they depend for being what they are (distinguished as real essence); the real being, divested of all logical accidents; that quality which constitutes or marks the true nature of anything; distinctive character; hence, virtue or quality of a thing, separated from its grosser parts.
The laws are at present, both in form and essence, the greatest curse that society labors under.
Gifts and alms are the expressions, not the essence of this virtue [charity].
The essence of Addison's humor is irony.

Scent

(obsolete) Sense, perception.

Essence

Constituent substance.
And uncompounded is their essence pure.

Scent

(transitive) To detect the scent of; to discern by the sense of smell.
The hounds scented the fox in the woods.

Essence

A being; esp., a purely spiritual being.
As far as gods and heavenly essencesCan perish.
He had been indulging in fanciful speculations on spiritual essences, until . . . he had and ideal world of his own around him.

Scent

(ambitransitive) To inhale in order to detect the scent of (something).

Essence

The predominant qualities or virtues of a plant or drug, extracted and refined from grosser matter; or, more strictly, the solution in spirits of wine of a volatile or essential oil; as, the essence of mint, and the like.
The . . . word essence . . . scarcely underwent a more complete transformation when from being the abstract of the verb "to be," it came to denote something sufficiently concrete to be inclosed in a glass bottle.

Scent

To have a suspicion of; to detect the possibility of (something).
I scented trouble when I saw them running down the hill towards me.

Essence

Perfume; odor; scent; or the volatile matter constituting perfume.
Nor let the essences exhale.

Scent

(transitive) To impart an odour to, to cause to have a particular smell.
Scent the air with burning sage before you begin your meditation.

Essence

To perfume; to scent.

Scent

To have a smell; (figuratively) to give an impression (of something).

Essence

The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience;
The gist of the prosecutor's argument
The heart and soul of the Republican Party
The nub of the story

Scent

To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.

Essence

Any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted

Scent

To perceive by the olfactory organs; to smell; as, to scent game, as a hound does.
Methinks I scent the morning air.

Essence

The central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

Scent

To imbue or fill with odor; to perfume.
Balm from a silver box distilled around,Shall all bedew the roots, and scent the sacred ground.

Essence

A toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor

Scent

To have a smell.
Thunderbolts . . . do scent strongly of brimstone.

Scent

To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.

Scent

That which, issuing from a body, affects the olfactory organs of animals; odor; smell; as, the scent of an orange, or of a rose; the scent of musk.
With lavish hand diffuses scents ambrosial.

Scent

Specifically, the odor left by an animal on the ground in passing over it; as, dogs find or lose the scent; hence, course of pursuit; track of discovery.
He gained the observations of innumerable ages, and traveled upon the same scent into Ethiopia.

Scent

The power of smelling; the sense of smell; as, a hound of nice scent; to divert the scent.

Scent

A distinctive odor that is pleasant

Scent

An odor left in passing by which a person or animal can be traced

Scent

Any property detected by the olfactory system

Scent

Cause to smell or be smelly

Scent

Catch the scent of; get wind of;
The dog nosed out the drugs

Scent

Apply perfume to;
She perfumes herself every day

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