Redolent Of: Standard Pattern
Redolent Of: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced complement pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.
Use “redolent of” when something strongly suggests, evokes, or smells of another thing.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| strongly suggest or evoke something | redolent of + noun | Use “of” to introduce what is suggested or evoked. |
| have a noticeable smell of something | redolent of + noun | The same preposition is documented for the smell sense. |
| choose another preposition by analogy | do not infer it | Keep the page bounded to the documented “redolent of” construction. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Do you mean that something strongly suggests, evokes, or smells of another thing?
If yes: Use “redolent of.”
If no: Use a different construction only when the intended meaning is different.
Examples
The room was redolent of cedar.
“Of” introduces the smell being evoked.
The design is redolent of an earlier era.
“Of” introduces what the design strongly suggests.
Her description was redolent of nostalgia.
The construction links the subject with the quality it evokes.
Further guidance
Construction
Cambridge documents “redolent of” for strongly suggesting or smelling of something, and also records “redolent with.”
Style Boundary
Because Cambridge also documents “redolent with,” this guide treats redolent of as a standard construction without calling the with-variant wrong.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- REDOLENT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press & Assessment · Cambridge dictionary evidence for redolent of and redolent with as documented constructions.