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View synonyms for perfume

perfume

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

noun

  1. 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.

    Synonyms: incense, scent, attar, essence

  2. the scent, odor, or volatile particles emitted by substances that smell agreeable.

    Antonyms: stench



verb (used with object)

, per·fumed, per·fum·ing.
  1. (of substances, flowers, etc.) to impart a pleasant fragrance to.
  2. to impregnate with a sweet odor; scent.

perfume

noun

  1. 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
  2. a scent or odour, esp a fragrant one


verb

  1. tr to impart a perfume to

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Other Words From

  • perfume·less adjective
  • perfum·y adjective
  • unper·fumed adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of perfume1

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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of perfume1

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

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Synonym Study

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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Example Sentences

She tells us that her love affair with fragrances began while watching her mother apply perfumes as a child.

Trends in the perfumes and PAHs mirror the ups and downs of human activities near Mount Elbrus.

That may explain why they made up more than 80 percent of the perfumes in every ice sample, says Vecchiato.

To make room, some are selling excess stocks in bulk to distilleries at a deep discount to be turned into—ouch—hand sanitizer and perfume.

From Fortune

Although it’s not the same experience as walking into a Chanel store, people still want to buy their perfume and have that delivered to them safely and conveniently.

From Digiday

A local perfume maker even produced a special scent for men and women named after the rocket, M75.

Perfume bottles and weathered papyrus replicas gather dust in the grubby window displays of the empty shops.

Before sending it she rubbed her perfume on it like a magical charm.

But the flower I lifted from the table was fresh and fragile and filled the air with perfume.

The Prophet says there are three things one must never refuse: a good pillow, good yogurt, and good perfume.

Pretty women without religion are like flowers without perfume.

The air was heavy with the perfume of frankincense which smouldered in a brass vessel set upon a tray.

For she called him 'Tommy'; she was his mother; love, tenderness, and pity emanated from her like a cloud of perfume.

He thrust one hand into his gold-coloured skirt, and produced a glass bottle full of some very cheap perfume from Europe.

He stumbled into the room, from which a heavy smell of perfume swept out upon the landing.

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perf. part.perfumer