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magnolia

magnolia

2 3.9
A tree or large shrub with big sweet smelling flowers
  • noun
  • /mæɡˈnoʊliə/
translation icon : magnolia
  • The magnolia tree in my grandmother's garden blooms every spring, filling the air with its sweet fragrance.
  • magnolia tree

I love magnolias because my mother bought a Magnolia tree very small.

Examples

  • In the very center of the ballroom, beneath a magnificent crystal chandelier, was a cluster of giant hothouse-nurtured magnolia trees in full bloom.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • It was early Victorian and stucco-fronted, gleaming white in the morning sunshine and counterpointed by a magnificent magnolia tree in full flower.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • I love magnolias because my mother bought a Magnolia tree very small.

  • It has the best view of trees, the magnolia trees.

  • One of the first things they did was plant a double row of magnolia trees along the driveway entrance to the nursery from Washington Road.

    Academic text (2015)
  • They bought a magnolia tree for the place by the front gate.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The magnificent double row of magnolia trees that welcomed Jones and his friends to the property from Washington Road could not have failed to impress them.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Also flowering in May is the sweet bay magnolia, a tree with narrow, white-backed leaves and a rich, creamy flower.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Among the trees are American elm, cabbage palm, live oak, pignut hickory, southern magnolia, and sugarberry.

    Academic text (2010)
  • After descending a steep ridge, past terraced fields, through cutover scrub, I reached the remnants of an ancient forest where giant magnolia trees stood festooned with clinging vines.

    Academic text (1990)

Compounds

A small tree with large pink or purple flowers grown in gardens

A large tree with shiny leaves and big white flowers that smell sweet

6.9

An evergreen tree with large glossy leaves and big white fragrant flowers

A large tree or shrub with very big leaves and creamy purple flowers

Magnolia macrophylla
  • Specialized
8.5

A large tree with very big leaves and creamy flowers with purple at the base

A nickname for the US state of Mississippi that refers to its magnolia trees

Magnolia soulangiana
  • Specialized
8.0

A small tree with large pink to purple flowers in spring that people grow in gardens

Magnolia stellata
  • Specialized
7.9

A small tree or bush from Japan with fragrant white star-shaped flowers that bloom before the leaves

Magnolia tripetala
  • Specialized
8.2

A small tree from eastern North America with large umbrella-shaped leaves and creamy white flowers

Magnolia virginiana
  • Specialized
7.6

A small tree or shrub from the southeast United States with sweet smelling white flowers

Magnolia acuminata
  • Specialized
9.3

A large American tree with broad leaves and fruit that looks like a cucumber

Magnolia fraseri
  • Specialized
8.8

A small tree that loses its leaves in winter and has very large leaves in groups at branch ends

magnolia family
  • Specialized
6.0

A group of flowering trees and shrubs including magnolias and tulip trees

Magnolia grandiflora
  • Specialized
7.5

A large evergreen tree with shiny leaves and big fragrant white flowers

A small tree like a garden shrub with large pink to purple open flowers in spring

An evergreen tree with large shiny leaves and big white flowers that smell sweet

A small tree or shrub with white, fragrant, star-shaped flowers that bloom before the leaves

A small tree with large leaves at the ends of its branches and creamy white flowers

How Fragrant

jasmine
51 2.7
magnolia
2 3.9
rose
469 1.0

Surface Forms

magnolia singular
magnolias plural

Etymology

Magnolia is named after a French plant scientist called Magnol, so you can imagine the tree as 'Magnol's flower'. That's why magnolia now means the large, sweet-smelling tree or shrub with big, showy blooms.