Aromatic
What it means
Having a strong, distinctive, and usually pleasant smell.
Reach for it when praising a noticeable scent when its character matters
Aromatic herbs brightened the simple tomato soup.
Words to choose between 6
| playful | |
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| warm |
|
| formal | |
| literary |
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playful
spicy
Fits when warm pungent spices dominate the aroma
Careful Spicy narrows the scent and can imply heat on the palate.
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everyday
Fits when an appetizing food smell suggests salt or spice
Careful Savory concerns taste and food, not flowers or timber.
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everyday
scented
Fits when something has a noticeable or added smell
Careful Scented may imply artificial fragrance and says nothing about quality.
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warm
Fits when a clearly pleasant smell is the whole compliment
Careful Fragrant promises pleasure, while aromatic can describe a strong neutral scent.
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formal
perfumed
Fits when a deliberate floral or cosmetic fragrance is present
Careful Perfumed is too ornate for herbs, roasted food, or natural wood.
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literary
redolent
Fits when the scent strongly evokes a place or substance
Careful Redolent is conspicuous and also introduces a figurative association.
Opposites 3
- odorless
- stale
- malodorous
Common phrases 3
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aromatic herbs
Aromatic herbs grew beside the kitchen door.
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aromatic spices
The cook warmed the aromatic spices before grinding them.
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highly aromatic
The small white flowers are highly aromatic after dusk.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated