fragrance
/ˈfreɪɡr(ə)ns
/noun
1A pleasant, sweet smell: the fragrance of fresh-ground coffee [mass noun]: the bushes fill the air with fragrance...
- He answers that he was compared to a sweet smelling fragrance that stays in the corner of a room and does not spread.
- It has a pleasant, sweet fragrance and is lightly laced, ruffled and fluted pale pink.
- He put his nose closer and smelt it, nodding at the pleasant fragrance.
Synonyms
sweet smell, scent, perfume, bouquet, aroma, odour, redolence, nose, balm, balminess
1.1A perfume or aftershave: our fine selection of classic fragrances for men and women [mass noun]: men who don’t customarily wear fragrance...
- For many, the use of fragrances like perfume, cologne, after-shave or scented lotion is a personal choice affecting only the user.
- The young man wore fine garments, was perfumed with fragrances and surrounded by musicians and attendants who ministered to his every need.
- His father had been fascinated by the chemical bases of scents, particularly the floral fragrances used in making perfumes, and he often worked in a home laboratory.
Synonyms
perfume, scent, eau de toilette, toilet water;
eau de cologne, cologne;
aftershave
informal scoosh
Derivatives
fragranced
- In addition, fragranced candles have becomes more readily-available to consumers.
- They all were fragranced with a different flower scent.
- Even those with no asthmatic history may begin to have attacks after becoming ‘sensitized’ to the chemicals in fragranced products.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from French, or from Latin fragrantia, from fragrare 'smell sweet'.
flair from late 19th century:
This word for ‘instinctive aptitude’ comes from French, from flairer ‘to smell’, based on Latin fragrare ‘smell sweet’, source also of fragrant (Late Middle English) and fragrance (mid 17th century). The notion is one of having the ability to detect the ‘scent, essence’ of something and the know-how to react accordingly.