aroma
Americannoun
-
an odor arising from spices, plants, cooking, etc., especially an agreeable odor; fragrance.
-
(of wines and spirits) the odor or bouquet.
-
a pervasive characteristic or quality.
noun
-
a distinctive usually pleasant smell, esp of spices, wines, and plants
-
a subtle pervasive quality or atmosphere
Synonym Usage
See perfume.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aroma
First recorded in 1175–1225; from Latin, from Greek: “spice”; replacing Middle English aromat, from Old French, from Latin arōmat- (stem of arōma )
Explanation
Aroma is the word for a fragrant scent, one that pleases the nose in a way that makes you lick your lips. Unlike its foul-smelling cousin the odor, an aroma smells but never stinks. Want to know what aromas smell like? Brew a fresh pot of coffee, grill some onions, and fry up a few strips of bacon. Aromas make you drool. You can also use the word to describe things that don't literally smell, yet somehow seem to linger smell-like in the air, like the oppressive aroma of a brutal dictatorship.
Vocabulary lists containing aroma
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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Smell Words
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Words for Cheese Writers
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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.
The German chemicals company is experiencing a weakening in its Aroma Molecules business.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025
In Ben Lomond, Aroma Restaurant has indoor and outdoor tables, with a pair of fireplaces in the rustic but stylish dining room.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2024
I have owned two Aroma rice cookers in my entire life.
From Salon • Jan. 2, 2022
Objecto W2 Aroma Diffuser: A faux-wood finish lets this essential-oil diffuser multitask as an objet d’art.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 12, 2021
Between the Aroma District in the south-east and Port Moresby on the north-west is situated the Hood Peninsula in the Central District of British New Guinea.
From The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3) The Belief Among the Aborigines of Australia, the Torres Straits Islands, New Guinea and Melanesia by Frazer, James George, Sir
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.
