fragrant
Americanadjective
-
having a pleasant scent or aroma; sweet-smelling; sweet-scented.
a fragrant rose.
- Antonyms:
- noisome, malodorous
-
delightful; pleasant.
fragrant memories.
adjective
Usage
What does fragrant mean? Fragrant is most commonly used to describe things that have a pleasant scent, especially a strong one, as in These flowers are so fragrant. It can also be used to describe the scent itself.Things that smell good are typically described as fragrant or aromatic, while things that smell bad might be described with the words smelly or stinky or the more formal terms odorous and odoriferous.The word fragrant can also be used in a somewhat ironic or humorous way to refer to things that do not smell good, as in Your socks are a bit fragrant. The related noun fragrance refers to a pleasant scent, especially a somewhat strong one. Fragrance is especially associated with flowers.Example: I always look forward to springtime, when the fragrant scent of freshly bloomed flowers fills the air.
Other Word Forms
- fragrantly adverb
- fragrantness noun
- nonfragrant adjective
- unfragrant adjective
- unfragrantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of fragrant
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin frāgrant- (stem of frāgrāns ), present participle of frāgrāre to smell sweet
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Laminated with cinnamon-cardamom butter, it promises a fragrant sauna when torn apart.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
Guthrie smiles as one of her young daughters places the flowers near her nose, an invitation to smell the fragrant blossoms.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026
Turning the odds and ends of vegetables—peels, stems, bruised bits—into a fragrant stock that makes even weeknight soup feel luxurious.
From Salon • Dec. 28, 2025
Mouth-watering kebabs, fragrant biryani and whipped cloud-like desserts.
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025
A fragrant curl of sweet kinnikinnick smoke stirred from the red stone bowl.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
