carnation

noun

car·​na·​tion kär-ˈnā-shən 

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

Covering 79 acres, the garden also features roses, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, lilies, carnations, and irises. —Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2025

We were greeted with offal-and-corn soup and presented with necklaces threaded with carnations, roses, toffee, lollipops, and circular knots of bread, a sort of Peruvian bagel. —Sam Kean, The Atlantic, 26 May 2025

Medics rushed both men from the scene to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens, but they couldn’t be saved. Classmates and teachers from Bayside High School embraced and knelt to pray before the casket, which was topped with a portrait of Neo and covered with a massive bouquet of white carnations. —Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025

The goal of the competition is finding a replacement for the carnation — a non-native flower that has served as San Diego’s official city flower since 1964. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, from Old Italian carnagione, from carne flesh, from Latin carn-, caro

First Known Use

circa 1535, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for carnation

• ablation
• bination
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation
• conflation

Kids Definition

carnation

noun

car·​na·​tion kär-ˈnā-shən 

1

: a moderate red

2

: any of the numerous cultivated herbs of the genus of pinks with reddish, pink, yellow, or white usually double flowers