Redolent

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈrÉ›d.É™l.É™nt/, /ˈrÉ›d.əʊ.lÉ™nt/
• US IPA: /ˈrÉ›d.É™l.É™nt/

Origin

First attested in 1400. From French redolent, from Latin redolentem, present participle of redoleō ("I emit a scent"), from re- + oleō ("I smell").

Full definition of redolent

Adjective

1. Fragrant or aromatic; having a sweet scent.
2. Having the smell of the article in question.
• 1861, Francis Colburn Adams, , ch. 32:His breath is already redolent of whiskey.
• Joyce Ulysses, Episode 16:Stephen, that is when the accosting figure came to close quarters, though he was not in an over sober state himself recognised Corley's breath redolent of rotten cornjuice.
3. (idiomatic) Suggestive or reminiscent.
• 1919, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, :But forth from sweat-shops, tenement and prison
  Wailed minor protests, redolent with pain.
• 1926, H.P. Lovecraft, :He said that the geometry of the dream-place he saw was abnormal, non-Euclidean, and loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours.''

Synonyms

• (fragrant or aromatic) aromatic, fragrant
• (having the smell of) reeking, smelling
• (suggestive or reminiscent) reminiscent, suggestive

Derived terms

• redolently

Related terms

• redolence
• redolency

Anagrams

• rondelet