efflorescence
noun
Julian Huxley
Did you know?
When Edgar Allan Poe spoke of an "efflorescence of language" in The Poetic Principle, he was referring to language that was flowery, or overly rich and colorful. This ties in to the garden roots of efflorescence, a word, like "flourish," that comes from the Latin word for "flower." More commonly, however, "efflorescence" refers to the literal or figurative act of blossoming much like a flower does. You could speak of "the efflorescence of nature in springtime," for example, or "the efflorescence of culture during the Renaissance." "Efflorescence" is also used in chemistry to refer to a process that occurs when something changes to a powder from loss of water of crystallization.
Examples of efflorescence in a Sentence
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 17 June 2025
What emerged from this great leap backward was a diverse efflorescence of art that directly addressed the very things the church ignored.
—Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
Beginning in the late ’80s, an efflorescence of truth under the leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin had revealed the full extent of the Soviet Union’s horrific crimes against its own citizens.
—Leon Aron, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
With the efflorescence of Christianity, a religion rooted in the Old Testament, through the Septuagint, knowledge of the temple spread.
—Lynn Whidden, Scientific American, 26 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for efflorescence
Cite this Entry
“Efflorescence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efflorescence. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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efflorescence
noun
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