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
-
is perfumingprogressive
-
have been perfumingperfect progressive
-
has been perfumingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
“It’s not a cheap perfume, I might say,” Iommi says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
Blunt says there was more to the sequence than viewers realised, hinting that Acaster was caught in a fib about a perfume bottle used in the murderous act.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
“Please don’t make your cars smell like a perfume store,” a rider on X said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
We’ve all stood under a streetlight; we all know the smell of wine and cheap perfume.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
I caught a whiff of her fading lavender perfume and the fried rice from dinner.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
That sounds healthy, but investors were spooked by low demand for Hermès’ clothing, watches and perfumes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
There are sections devoted to almost everything: fresh fish brought in that morning from the Gulf, dates from southern Iran, imported electronics, perfumes, household goods, and traditional Bandari clothing.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
The oil perfumes the whole pan with garlic and tomato while adding a subtle richness to the eggs themselves.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 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
Candles on the window ledges lit his way and he noticed all the different smells . . . strange spices, extinguished fires and burning cedar, sweets, powders, and perfumes.
From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick
John Lavelle exudes a perfumed whiff of modern camp in his portrayal of Orsini-Rosenberg, the fussy, backstabbing director of the Imperial Opera.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
The steakhouse creamed spinach, perfumed with nutmeg and unapologetically rich.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 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
Outside the clinic, in a "Koala Rehab Centre" faintly perfumed by eucalyptus leaves, is a three-year-old recovering from a hysterectomy.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2024
Among them was Gallius, perfumed and wreathed with flowers; the floor was filthy, soiled with wine and covered with withered garlands and fish-bones.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
In Yopougon, stores offer coffins, funeral clothing, artificial flowers, headstones, jewellery and scents for perfuming the dead.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
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
It’s not just about lighting a stick and perfuming your home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2022
In all of them, comedy is a top note, perfuming the odor of rot underneath.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
Dona Zaida, once a formidable matriarch who ruled her eight sons by a resolute jealousy, spent long afternoons watching novelas on television and perfuming her thickening wrists.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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