aromatic
Americanadjective
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having an aroma; fragrant or sweet-scented; odoriferous.
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Chemistry. of or relating to an aromatic compound or compounds.
noun
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a plant, drug, or medicine yielding a fragrant aroma, as sage or certain spices and oils.
adjective
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having a distinctive, usually fragrant smell
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(of an organic compound) having an unsaturated ring containing alternating double and single bonds, esp containing a benzene ring; exhibiting aromaticity Compare aliphatic
noun
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Relating to an organic compound containing at least one benzene ring or similar ring-shaped component. Naphthalene and TNT are aromatic compounds.
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Compare aliphatic
Other Word Forms
- aromatically adverb
- aromaticness noun
- nonaromatic adjective
- nonaromatically adverb
- unaromatic adjective
- unaromatically adverb
Etymology
Origin of aromatic
1325–75; Middle English aromatyk (< Middle French ) < Late Latin arōmaticus < Greek arōmatikós. See aroma, -ic
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.
Salvia clevelandii ‘Winifred Gilman’ didn’t do as well as the other sages and was too aromatic for his taste.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
For many years, chemists knew of only one silicon based aromatic compound.
From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026
Beyond that, efforts to produce larger silicon based aromatic systems repeatedly failed.
From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026
The curry is served with a bed of aromatic Basmati rice, making it a hearty yet easy meal to enjoy for workday lunches and weeknight dinners.
From Salon • Jan. 28, 2026
Sanjeev could smell something aromatic on the stove, and he picked his way carefully across the extra-long phone cord tangled on the Mexican terra-cotta tiles.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
