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Glite Dictionary
🌿 Pleasant smell 🧪 Benzene-related 🥬 A fragrant plant
aromatic

aromatic

3 7.4
Containing one or more benzene rings in a chemical
  • adjective
  • /əˈrɑːmətɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : aromático
  • Concentrations of organic pollutants, such as petroleum hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are also declining.
  • aromatic hydrocarbons
  • aromatic compound
  • aromatic ring

You stick your face in front of the exhaust pipe and take a big huff through your nose, which is a fantastic aromatic hydrocarbon detector, right?

Examples

  • The soil is showing elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have carcinogenic properties.

    Academic text (2009)

  • For a substitution reaction, you need an aromatic system, such as benzene.

  • Coal tar derivatives formed a chemical family that Hofmann called "aromatic" because they smelled sweet.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Exposure to volatile aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene) results in respiratory distress and unconsciousness.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The McIntosh apple is praised for its wonderfully aromatic, tangy flesh, which enhances the flavor of many dishes.

  • Coal tar derivatives are classified as aromatic due to their sweet scent and specific chemical structure.

  • In organic chemistry, substances like benzene are termed aromatic because they contain one or more benzene rings.

Synonyms

benzenoid
vsaromatic
  • Specialized
9.6

Having a ring of atoms like the chemical benzene

includes both that structure and the typical chemical properties of benzene

Antonyms

aliphatic
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Made of carbon atoms joined in open chains, not in rings

Compounds

aromatic hydrocarbon
  • Specialized
2 7.1

A chemical made of hydrogen and carbon that has one or more benzene rings

aromatic aster
  • US
9.5

A plant with scented leaves and purple or lavender flowers

aromatic compound
  • Specialized
5.1

A chemical with one or more rings like benzene that often has a strong smell

aromatic resin
5.8

A natural substance with a pleasant smell that trees and plants make and people use in perfume, incense, and medicine

Surface Forms

aromatic positive

Morphology

aromatic = aroma (opaque) = aroma + ic

The chemical sense developed from historical associations with fragrant substances but now denotes a specific structural property (benzene-like systems) that is not inferable from 'aroma'.

Etymology

Aromatic in chemistry takes its name from the same root arōma because early chemists noticed many benzene-like substances had strong smells. So today 'aromatic' in chemistry means a special ring-shaped structure, even if not all such compounds have a strong smell.