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When it first entered English "florid" was used with the literal meaning "covered with flowers." That use, though now obsolete, hints at the word's history. English speakers borrowed "florid" from the Latin adjective floridus ("blooming" or "flowery"), itself from the verb "florēre" ("to bloom"). "Florēre," which in turn comes from a Latin root meaning "flower," is also an ancestor of the words "flourish" and "florescence" ("a state or period of flourishing"). These days, "florid" can refer to an overblown style in speech, writing, or decoration. As such, its synonyms include "ornate," "rococo," and "overwrought."
Examples of florid in a Sentence
Eric Cortellessa, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
The screenwriter, Nora Garrett, has achieved an amusingly florid Hollywood simulacrum—one that tilts into knowing parody—of an intensely self-regarding world.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Schnabel has already introduced his most florid gambit: flashbacks to Dante Alighieri, who is played by Isaac with a morose Shakespearean flourish.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025
There’s no florid wallpaper and no nostalgic oil paintings.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for florid
Cite this Entry
“Florid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/florid. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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florid
adjective
Medical Definition
florid
adjective
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