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
Explanation
Something that is fragrant has a nice smell. What makes a smell nice is subjective, of course. You might find a bowl of dried lavender to be fragrant, but your dog might prefer a pile of horse poop. Fragrant things emit good smells, like flowers, trees, or cooking. Maybe you find fresh cut grass fragrant, or the smell of summer rain on asphalt. When a smell gets too intense, however, it loses its fragrancy. Someone doused in cologne has bypassed fragrancy for noxiousness. But he’s right on one count: the people we are attracted to are almost always fragrant to us.
Vocabulary lists containing fragrant
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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.
There are five infinity fountains, also clad in carvings, punctuating the space while fragrant native plants perfume the warm, dry L.A. air, identified by information cards written in Halsey’s recognizable script.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Start with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes, bloomed until fragrant.
From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026
Evgeny dissembles: “Nothing. It is perhaps the fragrant scent of a passing track team.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
Let them soften slowly, blooming until fragrant and slightly sweet, their edges translucent and relaxed.
From Salon • Feb. 24, 2026
Mixed with the resinous scent of the firs there came another smell, strong and fragrant, yet sharp—the perfume of flowers, but of some kind unknown to Hazel.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
