Meaning & use
perfuming
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“perfuming” is a form of “perfume”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
The act of adding a pleasant smell to something, such as a room, product, or the body.
Grammar: Takes an object: perfume the air.
Patterns
- perfume something with something
- perfume the air
She is perfuming the living room with lavender oil.
The company is perfuming its new laundry detergent with a floral scent.
He was perfuming his handkerchief before the guests arrived.
noununcountable
The process or activity of making something smell pleasant.
Grammar: Used as a noun; no plural form in this sense.
Patterns
- the perfuming of something
- perfuming techniques
The perfuming of the candles takes place in a separate workshop.
Modern perfuming often uses synthetic molecules as well as natural extracts.
Word forms
| third person singular | perfumes |
|---|---|
| past tense | perfumed |
| past participle | perfumed |
| present participle | perfuming |
Common combinations
- perfuming the air
- The flowers were perfuming the air with a sweet scent.
- perfuming a product
- They are perfuming the lotion with a light citrus fragrance.
- perfuming the room
- She enjoys perfuming the room before guests arrive.
- heavily perfumed
- The soap was heavily perfumed and gave me a headache.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scenting
- Scenting is close in meaning but often suggests a lighter or more natural smell, while perfuming can imply a stronger, added fragrance.
- fragrancing
- Fragrancing is rare and mostly used in product descriptions; perfuming is the more common everyday term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: perfuming or performing?
perfuming vs performing
Performing means taking part in a play, concert, or other entertainment. Perfuming is about adding a smell.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'perfuming' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct answer is B: 'perfuming' is used as a present participle to describe flowers adding a scent. An is wrong because you perfume with a smell, not with chocolate (you flavor with chocolate). C is wrong because the verb needs 'is' before 'perfuming' to form the present continuous. D is wrong because 'perfume' is not used with 'to' in that way and the tense is incorrect.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “perfuming”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.