perfume
Americannoun
-
perfumes
plural
-
a substance, extract, or preparation for diffusing or imparting an agreeable or attractive smell, especially a fluid containing fragrant natural oils extracted from flowers, woods, etc., or similar synthetic oils.
-
the scent, odor, or volatile particles emitted by substances that smell agreeable.
- Antonyms:
- stench
verb (used with object)
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perfumes,
present (3rd person singular)
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perfumed,
past participle, past
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perfuming
present participle
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(of substances, flowers, etc.) to impart a pleasant fragrance to.
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to impregnate with a sweet odor; scent.
noun
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a mixture of alcohol and fragrant essential oils extracted from flowers, spices, etc, or made synthetically, used esp to impart a pleasant long-lasting scent to the body, stationery, etc See also cologne toilet water
-
a scent or odour, esp a fragrant one
verb
Synonym Usage
Perfume, aroma, fragrance all refer to agreeable odors. Perfume often indicates a strong, rich smell, natural or manufactured: the perfume of flowers. Fragrance is usually applied to fresh, delicate, and delicious odors, especially from growing things: fragrance of new-mown hay. Aroma is restricted to a somewhat spicy smell: the aroma of coffee.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perfumesimple
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perfumessimple
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have perfumedperfect
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has perfumedperfect
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am perfumingprogressive
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are perfumingprogressive
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is perfumingprogressive
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have been perfumingperfect progressive
-
has been perfumingperfect progressive
Past
-
perfumedsimple
-
had perfumedperfect
-
was perfumingprogressive
-
were perfumingprogressive
-
had been perfumingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perfume
First recorded in 1525–35; earlier parfume (noun), from Middle French parfum, noun derivative of parfumer (verb), from obsolete Italian parfumare (modern profumare ). See per-, fume
Explanation
That delicious mid-summer smell in the middle of a rose garden? You can call that its perfume. If you apply scented oil to your neck and wrists before leaving your house every the morning, you know what perfume is. Another kind of perfume is one that doesn't come in a bottle, like the smell of your mom's cinnamon rolls or the salty fragrance of the ocean after a storm. The earliest use of perfume in English specifically meant "the smell of something burning," and the Latin root is smoky as well: fumare means "to smoke" and per means "through."
Vocabulary lists containing perfume
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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Smell Words
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Unit 16
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Yes, they do, for perfume and for investing.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
The Willy Chavarria show was air-conditioned, pumped with Xinú perfume and felt expensive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The powder clings beautifully to potatoes before roasting, the dried dairy helping to encourage browning while the herbs perfume every bite.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
He also said that their two children reminded him of "the best" of Michelle and that they "ask for her perfume so they can still smell her".
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
"Goddess. It's the new perfume from Versace. It suits you."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
The oil perfumes the whole pan with garlic and tomato while adding a subtle richness to the eggs themselves.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
The New York-based business makes a variety of products, ranging from scents for perfumes to ingredients used in food that can help digestion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
There have been reports of an uptick in luxury goods such as Chanel cosmetics and perfumes circulating among wealthy North Koreans, while fur coats have become popular in a city bordering China.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
At another wholesale mall, iridescent streamers and gold mirror balls hung from the ceiling of Wen Linpeng's shop selling colourful soap bars, perfumes and make-up products.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
She wore some of the world’s earlier high-heeled shoes, the first ‘designer’ perfumes, and owned the first side-saddle to allow women to ride as adeptly as men.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
But when we spoke about his second solo album, “Acomodo,” the Nayarit-born, Sinaloa-raised singer, whose real name is Jesús Roberto Laija García, arrived polished, perfumed and poised.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
This dish, colored with saffron and perfumed with warm spices, was inspired by a meal I recently enjoyed in Rafidi’s luxuriously updated restaurant, and shares his locavore approach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
The smell of sewage lightly perfumed the air.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2025
Follow your nose through a garden, and pay attention to what memories are triggered: spring lilacs and newly turned soil, freshly cut lawn and lazy summer days perfumed with lavender, the damp decay of autumn.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
The breeze whispers a hint of cool, perfumed blossom, and I have a red sweater, a yellow overcoat.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Off heat, fold in lemon zest — the volatile oils hit the warm crumbs and bloom instantly, perfuming them.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026
A loose-fingered sprinkle that collapsed into the pot like dried pine needles, instantly perfuming the steam.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2025
Thick smoke of burning incense penetrates the room, perfuming everything sacred.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2023
When one skater went airborne for a tailslide, scraping the Pulaski stonework with the edge of his deck, Fuchs pointed an index finger upward as if the sound were perfuming the air.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2022
She examines them sternly, going down the line, just as a gnat, attracted by the lotion perfuming her legs, lands on her big toenail and gets stuck.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
