magnolia

noun

mag·no·lia | \ mag-ˈnōl-yə

Definition of magnolia

: any of a genus (Magnolia of the family Magnoliaceae, the magnolia family) of American and Asian shrubs and trees with entire evergreen or deciduous leaves and usually showy white, yellow, rose, or purple flowers usually appearing in early spring

Examples of magnolia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Among them are hickory, redbud, eastern hophornbeam, white oak, beech, magnolia, maple, sweetbay, holly, Florida anise, sweetgum, dogwood and swamp tupelo. — Amy Aumick, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Explore Florida's Liberty County: Gorgeous views of the Apalachicola River," 7 May 2018 Hello, magnolia warblers, and welcome back to another edition of This Week in Timothée Chalamet. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "This Week in Timothée Chalamet, January 18 Edition," 18 Jan. 2019 Sofia Barozzi of Il Profumo dei Fiori created the floral arrangements, which included three types of roses (English, spray, and avalanche), hydrangea, dahlias, clematis, magnolia, white protea, and ferns. — Brooke Porter Katz, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Couple Took Over a Small Town in Italy for Their Medieval-Inspired Wedding," 28 Feb. 2019 The 15 October Glory maples of 3-inch caliper, and two magnolias of 10 to 12 feet, come with amendments, mulch, stakes and a one-year guarantee. — David Ibata, ajc, "Roswell OKs partnership to plant 17 trees," 16 May 2018 The company also sells roses, dogwoods, southern magnolias, bougainvilleas, azaleas, and more. — Jenae Sitzes, Country Living, "20 Best Mother's Day Flower Delivery Options," 1 May 2018 Though the Bronx River is largely hidden, the verdant shore can be seen at two-acre Drew Gardens, which is planted with magnolias, dogwood and Japanese maples. — New York Times, "West Farms, the Bronx: Flora, Fauna and Renewal," 13 June 2018 Roses and magnolias, the national flowers of the U.S. and North Korea, are intertwined under a carving of a dove. — Annabelle Liang, Fox News, "Singapore Postcard: Summit island hides macabre history," 9 June 2018 Other options: Teddy Bear dwarf magnolias, Oakland and Mary Nell Hollies, waxleaf ligustrums, but not the highly disease-prone redtip photinias, Italian cypress or upright junipers. — Neil Sperry, San Antonio Express-News, "Why do I have lawn runners and neighbors don’t?," 4 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'magnolia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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20 Jun 2019

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Time Traveler for magnolia

The first known use of magnolia was in 1739

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More Definitions for magnolia

magnolia

noun

English Language Learners Definition of magnolia

: a tree or tall bush that has white, pink, yellow, or purple flowers

See the full definition for magnolia in the English Language Learners Dictionary

magnolia

noun

mag·no·lia | \ mag-ˈnōl-yə

Kids Definition of magnolia

: a tree or tall shrub having showy white, pink, yellow, or purple flowers that appear in early spring

magnolia

noun

mag·no·lia | \ mag-ˈnōl-yə

Medical Definition of magnolia

1 capitalized : a genus (family Magnoliaceae, the magnolia family) of North American and Asian shrubs and trees including some whose bark has been used especially as a bitter tonic and diaphoretic in folk medicine

2a : any shrub or tree of the genus Magnolia

b : the dried bark of a magnolia