perfume

[ noun pur-fyoom, per-fyoom; verb per-fyoom, pur-fyoom ]

/ noun ˈpɜr fyum, pərˈfyum; verb pərˈfyum, ˈpɜr fyum /

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noun

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.

verb (used with object), per·fumed, per·fum·ing.

(of substances, flowers, etc.) to impart a pleasant fragrance to.

to impregnate with a sweet odor; scent.

Nearby words

Origin of perfume

1525–35; earlier parfume (noun) < Middle French parfum, noun derivative of parfumer (v.) < obsolete Italian parfumare (modern profumare). See per-, fume

SYNONYMS FOR perfume

1. essence, attar, scent; incense. 2. 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.

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ANTONYMS FOR perfume

2. stench.

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Related formsper·fume·less, adjectiveper·fum·y, adjectiveun·per·fumed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for perfume

Perfume bottles and weathered papyrus replicas gather dust in the grubby window displays of the empty shops.
Egyptian Tomb-Robbing Market Explodes on eBay|Bel Trew|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Before sending it she rubbed her perfume on it like a magical charm.
The Moment Kurt Cobain Met Courtney Love|Charles R. Cross|April 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the flower I lifted from the table was fresh and fragile and filled the air with perfume.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He reached up to the front seat, took my hand by the wrist and rubbed the perfume from his palm to mine.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi|Elliot Ackerman|January 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Abu Hassar nodded and took a small vial of perfume from his Adidas sweatshirt.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi|Elliot Ackerman|January 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The name by which the fruit was known to the Greeks indicates its size; with the Latins its name was symbolic of its perfume.
Science in the Kitchen.|Mrs. E. E. Kellogg
THE generality of naturalists are of opinion that the perfume called civet, or musk, is furnished only by one species of animals.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
And I have yet to find one that has an odor that could be called a perfume.
A Year in the Fields|John Burroughs
There were exquisite wafts of perfume from hidden flowers breathing their dreams to the night.
The Ninth Vibration And Other Stories|L. Adams Beck
It smells of warm leather, moist beast, and a little of her own perfume too.
Barks and Purrs|Colette Willy, aka Colette

British Dictionary definitions for perfume

perfume

noun (ˈpɜːfjuːm)

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, etcSee also cologne, toilet water

a scent or odour, esp a fragrant one

verb (pəˈfjuːm)

(tr) to impart a perfume to

Word Origin for perfume

C16: from French parfum, probably from Old Provençal perfum, from perfumar to make scented, from per through (from Latin) + fumar to smoke, from Latin fumāre to smoke

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for perfume

perfume

1530s, "fumes from a burning substance," from Middle French parfum (16c.), from parfumer "to scent," from Old Provençal perfumar or cognate words in dialectal Italian (perfumare) or Spanish (perfumar), from Latin per- "through" (see per) + fumare "to smoke" (see fume (n.)). Meaning "fluid containing agreeable essences of flowers, etc.," is attested from 1540s.

perfume

1530s, "to fill with smoke or vapor," from perfume (n.) or from Middle French parfumer. Meaning "to impart a sweet scent to" is from 1530s. Related: Perfumed; perfuming.

perfume

noun

verb (used with object), per·fumed, per·fum·ing.

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Origin of perfume

Examples from the Web for perfume

perfume

noun (ˈpɜːfjuːm)

verb (pəˈfjuːm)

Word Origin for perfume

perfume

perfume