redolent

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 4, 2026 is: redolent • \RED-uh-lunt\  • adjective As a synonym of aromatic, the word redolent can describe something that has a noticeable smell without specifying the scent, but more often it is accompanied by of or with and means “full of a specified fragrance,” as in “redolent with incense.” Redolent can also describe something that causes thoughts or memories of something, as in “music redolent of the 1980s.” // The late-spring meadow was redolent of wildflowers and petrichor. See the entry > Examples: “The store is redolent with the aroma of warm chocolate and an ambience evoking the agricultural roots of cacao with plants and growing tunnels.” — Robert Channick, The Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026 Did you know? Redolent traces back to the Latin verb olēre (“to smell”) and is a relative of olfactory, “of, relating to, or connected with the sense of smell.” In its earliest English uses in the 15th century, redolent simply meant “having an aroma.” Today, it usually applies to a place or thing permeated with odors. Scent and memory are famously linked, and an extended use of redolent to mean “evocative” or “suggestive” links them again, as in “lollipops redolent of childhood.”