smell vs mephitis

smell and mephitis both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
smell	Yes	No	Yes	No
mephitis	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, mephitis is a hyponym of smell; that is, mephitis is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than smell:

smell: the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
mephitis: a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant

Other hyponyms of smell include scent, aroma, fragrance, perfume, scent, fetor, foetor, malodor, malodour, reek, stench, stink, acridity, stank.

smell (noun)	mephitis (noun)
the act of perceiving the odor of something	a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
any property detected by the olfactory system	a poisonous or foul smelling gas emitted from the earth
the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

smell (verb)	mephitis (verb)
become aware of not through the senses but instinctively
emit an odor
inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense
smell bad
have an element suggestive (of something)