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lily

lily

94 1.0
A tall plant with large, showy bell-shaped flowers often grown in gardens
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪli/
: lirio
  • From every channel and riverbank, lake and lily-pad-covered lagoon, a chorus of frogs serenaded their unseen audience.
  • white lily
  • calla lily
  • lily family

And Oh, yeah, he had lilies and tulips, I'm telling you.

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Examples

  • There are orchids and lilies and roses.

  • Nicely landscaped with lily ponds and lush gardens, the park has a variety of some 1,000 birds.

    Academic text (2001)
  • I had to cut the day lilies back anyway.

  • The flower petal had come from a lily.

  • The garden was filled with vibrant lilies in various colors, attracting many butterflies.

  • She admired the beautiful lily blooming in her front yard, which added charm to the landscape.

  • Every spring, the lilies come back, bringing a burst of color to the garden after winter.

Synonyms

Lilium
vslily
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A group of flowering plants with large showy flowers often called true lilies

is the ornamental plant form grown from that genus with showy bell flowers
genus Lilium
vslily
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A group of plants like true lilies with large beautiful flowers often grown in gardens

is the ornamental plant classified in that genus with bell shaped pendulous flowers

Idioms

to gild the lily
  • Informal
2 8.8

To make unneeded changes to something already beautiful

1 9.9

To add decoration that is not needed to something already beautiful

Compounds

10 1.6

A flat round leaf that floats on a pond or lake

calla lily
  • South African
6 5.3

A tall plant with a large white flower that people grow for gardens and weddings

5 1.9

A plant that floats on water with large round leaves and pretty white, pink, or yellow flowers

lily-livered
  • Offensive
4 9.9

Not brave and easily frightened

A small garden plant with broad leaves and white bell-shaped flowers that smell sweet

1 3.5

A plant with large white flowers that often grows in water

1 3.5

A garden plant with bright, showy flowers that each open for only one day

1 4.6

A tall garden flower with orange or yellow spotted petals that curve back

1 2.6

A tall white lily with large trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in spring, often used at Easter

lily family
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A group of flowering plants like tulips that often grow from bulbs

1 4.8

A green houseplant with shiny leaves and a white leaf around its flowers

1 3.5

A water plant with large round leaves that float on ponds and showy flowers

1 6.1

A tropical plant with large colorful flowers and broad leaves

1 7.7

A plant that grows in wet places with thin stems and small white flowers

Madonna lily
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A large white garden flower with wide trumpet-shaped blooms

1 8.2

A small North American woodland flower with nodding yellow blooms and speckled leaves

mariposa lily
  • Specialized
1 9.1

A wild flower with three petals that looks like a small butterfly

water-lily family
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A group of water plants with large floating leaves and fragrant flowers

A plant with clusters of long-lasting pinkish flowers grown in gardens or used in bouquets

A garden plant with round groups of blue or purple flowers

1 9.5

A plant that lives many years with white bell-shaped flowers and edible bulbs from western North America

African lily
  • South African
1 6.8

A plant from Africa with green leaves and large groups of violet-blue flowers

1 8.8

A forest plant with three leaves at the top of the stem and one three-petaled flower

sea lily
  • Specialized
1 9.7

An animal with a stalk and feathery arms that lives attached to the sea floor

arum lily
  • South African
1 7.9

A garden plant with a large white flower often used in bouquets

A water plant with big floating leaves and sweet smelling flowers

1 9.9

A low plant with two long leaves, small sweet-smelling bell flowers and red berries

1 8.5

A small plant with bright yellow flowers that grows near melting snow in high mountains

1 7.0

A plant with yellow flowers that smell sweet and bloom in spring

A plant with yellow flowers that grows in ponds and slow-moving water

1 8.4

A plant that lives many years, has spotted flowers, and grows in damp shade

A white water lily that grows on water in Egypt and nearby regions, once sacred to the ancient Egyptians

1 9.5

A plant with orange-red flowers and maroon spots that grows in the western United States

1 9.3

A plant with cup-shaped flowers whose petals curve back, usually yellow to red

1 9.9

A plant that lives for many years with white flowers often with orange spots near melting snow

1 7.9

A flower with bright, spotted petals that grows wild in the United States

1 8.4

A low evergreen plant with leaves like grass and small purple flowers used as ground cover

A plant that lives many years with broad ribbed leaves and pale flowers used as ground cover

corn lily
  • South African
1 7.5

A South African plant with long grasslike leaves and bright lily-like flowers

1 7.7

A tall flowering plant from central North America with orange-red curved-back petals marked with dark red spots

A tall plant with large white trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in spring

1 9.9

A small wildflower that grows in woods with hanging creamy white or yellow flowers and spotted leaves

1 9.9

A white spring flower with broad funnel-shaped petals from the eastern Mediterranean

1 5.5

A wild flower that grows in meadows and open woods and has hanging yellow or red blooms with brown spots

Jacobean lily
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A Mexican plant that grows from a bulb with one large bright red flower

1 8.4

A tall wild flower from western North America with bright orange-red flowers spotted with purple

1 9.0

A North American wildflower with orange-red spotted petals that point downward

1 8.1

A wild flower with orange-red petals and purple spots that grows in eastern North American woods

1 7.2

A water plant with broad leaves and round yellow flowers that floats on calm water

A tall plant with large fragrant white trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in spring

belladonna lily
  • South African
8.3

A South African plant with large sweet-smelling white or pink flowers

blood lily
  • South African
9.9

A plant with bright red, round flowers

A plant with bright green leaves and clusters of deep blue flowers often grown in gardens

A garden plant with orange flowers and seed pods that open to show seeds like blackberries

8.2

A tall wildflower with nodding yellow or reddish flowers spotted with brown

A plant with bell-shaped flowers that hang down and show a checkered pattern

9.1

A climbing plant with tendrils at its leaf tips and bright red, yellow, or purple flowers that is poisonous

Clinton's lily
  • Specialized
9.9

A small forest plant with broad leaves, white or purple flowers, and blue berries

coast lily
  • Specialized
8.4

A lily with bright orange flowers that grows on the Pacific coast of the United States

Columbia tiger lily
  • Specialized
8.1

A tall orange-red flower with purple spots that grows wild in western North America

9.1

A water plant with broad floating leaves and round yellow flowers that grows in quiet ponds

creeping lily
  • Indian
9.2

A climbing plant with bright red, yellow, or purple flowers that is poisonous

9.9

A plant that lives many years with large reddish orange flowers with black spots and petals that curve back

An evergreen climbing plant with glossy leaves and fragrant white, trumpet-shaped flowers

9.9

A wildflower with pinkish-purple bell-shaped flowers that grows in dry clay soil in California

A white lily from the eastern Mediterranean often shown in Christian art

amber lily
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with long grasslike leaves and a tall leafless stalk of orange-yellow star-shaped flowers

9.6

A grasslike plant from Australia that flowers in spring with clusters of woolly flowers

9.7

A Mexican bulb plant grown for a large bright red single flower

A water plant with large white flowers that float on ponds

7.9

A small plant with white bell-shaped flowers that looks like the true lily of the valley

kudu lily
  • South African
9.9

A South African shrub with a thick water-storing stem and pink and white flowers after its leaves fall

A garden plant with a seed pod that splits to show seeds like a blackberry

How Showy

orchid
77 3.9
flag
1 8.1
lily
94 1.0
daisy
60 1.0

Surface Forms

lily singular
lilies plural

Etymology

Lily comes from the old Latin word lilium and the Greek leírion, names people long used for this bright, showy flower. So a lily today is still the same large, often white flower you see in gardens and bouquets.