perfume

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR perfume ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of perfume

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

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

Synonyms for perfume

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR perfume ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Antonyms for perfume

2. stench.

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

Related Words for perfume

oil, bouquet, odor, incense, aroma, smell, spice, balm, sachet, essence, cologne, fragrance, redolence, attar, balminess

Examples from the Web for perfume

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of perfume

She had taken the bouquet of violets and breathed the perfume to cool her feverishness.
The Dream
Emile Zola
"They soon lose their perfume," replied the sombre Old Year.
The Sister Years (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
How far away all that already was, and with what perfume had it not filled his life!
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
In vain they woo him with their beauteous eyes and breath of perfume.
Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 5. May 1848
Various
The perfume of violet scent was almost unbearable, but he did not flinch.
The Avenger
E. Phillips Oppenheim

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

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.

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.