florid

[flawr-id, flor-]

adjective

1. reddish; ruddy; rosy.

   a florid complexion.

   Antonyms: pale

2. flowery; excessively ornate; showy.

   florid writing.

   Synonyms: gaudy, flash, rococo, grandiloquent, flamboyant
   Antonyms: unaffected, simple, plain

3. Obsolete.,  abounding in or consisting of flowers.

florid

/ ˈflɒrɪd /

adjective

1. having a red or flushed complexion

2. excessively ornate; flowery

   florid architecture

3. an archaic word for flowery

Other Word Forms

• floridity noun
• floridly adverb
• floridness noun
• overflorid adjective
• overfloridly adverb
• overfloridness noun
• unflorid adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of florid¹

1635–45; < Latin flōridus, equivalent to flōr ( ēre ) to bloom ( florescence ) + -idus -id ⁴

Word History and Origins

Origin of florid¹

C17: from Latin flōridus blooming

Example Sentences

But just as tangible, almost pervasive, is the horror of a majestic creature’s inescapable destiny, turned into a florid choreography of dominance.

From Los Angeles Times

Stewart has made an assured mess: a bleary, florid and sometimes lyrical film that could stand to be doused by a bucket of ice water.

From Los Angeles Times

Hoffman has done a marvelous job of reading through Aimee’s voluminous, florid writings and creating a narrative that works for the modern ear.

From Los Angeles Times

A divine Gaga strapped into couture crutches and lit by soft blue gels and a single spotlight, with her yards-long white cape rising into the air and fanning against the opera house’s florid details.

From Salon

His henchman Stephen Miller does know how to produce a florid turn of phrase, doesn't he?

From Salon

Related Words

• baroque 
• decorative 
• flamboyant 
• ornate 
• sonorous