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Synonyms

thistle

American  
[this-uhl] / ˈθɪs əl /

noun

  1. any of various prickly, composite plants having showy, purple flower heads, especially of the genera Cirsium, Carduus, or Onopordum.

  2. any of various other prickly plants.

Thistle 1 British  
/ ˈθɪsəl /

noun

  1. See Order of the Thistle

  2. (sometimes not capital)

    1. the emblem of this Order

    2. membership of this Order

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
thistle 2 British  
/ ˈθɪsəl /

noun

  1. any of numerous plants of the genera Cirsium, Carduus , and related genera, having prickly-edged leaves, pink, purple, yellow, or white dense flower heads, and feathery hairs on the seeds: family Asteraceae (composites)

  2. a thistle, or a representation of one, as the national emblem of Scotland

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • thistlelike adjective
  • thistly adjective

Etymology

Origin of thistle

before 900; Middle English thistel, Old English; cognate with Dutch distel, German Distel, Old Norse thistill

Vocabulary lists containing thistle

Purple

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If I’m reading my wildflowers handbook right, these were tidy tips, Goldfields, Owl’s Clover, thistle sage, Valley Larkspur, coreopsis, phacelia and hillside daisies.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Among England's Tudor rose, Scotland's thistle, the Welsh leek and the Irish shamrock are the Canadian maple leaf and India's lotus flower.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

But its allure is being winnowed away by the noxious Russian thistle, the spread of which is entirely the fault of the ceaseless and unforgiving prairie wind.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

Researchers from the University of Cologne have found a new use for Cnicin, a substance produced in blessed thistle.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2024

She displayed a prickly bouquet of thistle blossoms.

From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.