carnation
noun
car·na·tion
| \ kär-ˈnā-shən
\
\
Definition of carnation
1
: a plant of any of numerous often cultivated and usually double-flowered varieties or subspecies of an Old World pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) found in many color variations
2
: a moderate red
3
archaic
: the variable color of human flesh
Examples of carnation in a Sentence
The groom wore a carnation in his buttonhole.
Recent Examples on the Web
Her left hand, wrapped up in orange and red fabric like a carnation, glides across the railing. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "The Making of Tomo Koizumi’s NYFW Debut," 9 Feb. 2019 Multiple officers at the funeral carried carnations, WSBT reported. — Hollie Silverman, CNN, "Indiana police attended the memorial for a toddler who fell from a cruise ship window," 16 July 2019 Downtown Lacalm had a few dozen medieval homes, a shop or four and old bikes decorated merrily with paper carnations. — Michael Powell, New York Times, "On the Road With the Tour de France," 18 July 2019 No evidence of coins thrown or swinging arms; no history or in-between; no carnations wrapped in cellophane piled up on the sidewalk; those collapsed years, all the befores befores befores. — Michelle Tea, Harper's magazine, "Stonewall at Fifty," 22 June 2019 At the end of the ceremony, a small bouquet — red carnations, yellow and white daisies — was given to each firefighter. — Gal Tziperman Lotan, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston firefighters gather to remember their fallen," 9 June 2019 Fundraisers held included parents purchasing carnations for students on Valentine's Day, Stuck For a Buck where a teacher was duct taped to a wall, and Pie Face - the teacher with the most money raised received a pie to the face. — Julie A. Short/special To Cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Avon Community Center undergoing renovations: Short Takes on Avon, Avon Lake and North Ridgeville," 4 Mar. 2018 Pale-pink carnations and notes written on cardboard punctuated the black granite. — Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, "Liu Cixin’s War of the Worlds," 17 June 2019 January birthdays get carnations, for example, while July birthdays get lavender, and August birthdays get poppies. — Brittney Morgan, House Beautiful, "This Birth Month Flower Grow Kit Is the Most Thoughtful Gift for Gardeners," 27 May 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'carnation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for carnation
carnation
noun
English Language Learners Definition of carnation
: a pink, white, yellow, or red flower that has a sweet smell
See the full definition for carnation in the English Language Learners Dictionary
carnation
noun
car·na·tion
| \ kär-ˈnā-shən
\
\
Kids Definition of carnation
: a fragrant usually white, pink, or red garden or greenhouse flower
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