flowery
Americanadjective
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abounding in flowers
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decorated with flowers or floral patterns
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like or suggestive of flowers
a flowery scent
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(of language or style) elaborate; ornate
Related Words
See bombastic.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flowery
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at flower, -y 1
Explanation
Something flowery either looks, smells, or feels like flowers. You might wear flowery perfume or write a flowery poem starting with "Roses are red..." However, flowery is not a compliment when it comes to writing. If a blanket has a lot of pictures of flowers on it, it's flowery. If a scent reminds you of flowers, it's flowery. Flowery things make you think of flowers in some way. Also, flowery things are full of intricate details, maybe a little too full of them. A flowery speech might have many figures of speech but very little content. A flowery building design has lots of little touches and details. Flowery can mean something close to ornate.
Vocabulary lists containing flowery
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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Too Bright to See
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"The Open Window" and "One in a Million"
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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.
Blume didn’t begin to try to write professionally until she was a married mother of two and some have criticized her work for not being as flowery and polished as others’.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
Mr. Mauch’s prose is not flowery, but direct, single-minded and determined, like the man himself.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
Because of this, she dressed in "soft, flowery, not particularly fashion-forward" clothes.
From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026
The denizens of Millionaire’s Row wore white linen, seersucker suits, flowery hats and expensive lace versus the short pants and bathing suits among those who lived in the infield.
From Salon • May 4, 2024
Hagrid yelled, and from inside his jacket pocket he pulled his flowery pink umbrella.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
