snowflake

snow·flake | \ ˈsnō-ˌflāk

Definition of snowflake

1 : a flake or crystal of snow

2 : any of a genus (Leucojum) of Old World bulbous plants of the amaryllis family especially : one (L. vernum) resembling the snowdrop

3 informal + usually disparaging

a : someone regarded or treated as unique or special … proclaim that parents need a way for their precious snowflakes to escape failing schools.— Harold Cook Baseball, like no other sport, has stats that make a special snowflake out of every player.— Ben Rowen

b : someone who is overly sensitive One side derides the youth driving the movement as snowflakes and social justice warriors, too sensitive and too politically correct.— Vanessa McCray We are not delicate creatures. We are not snowflakes.— Rosie DiManno

Examples of snowflake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The sea turtles’ tears also exhibited striking, snowflake-like crystallized patterns when dried. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "Microscopically, Crocodile Tears Look Sort of Like Our Own," 17 Aug. 2020 One prominent example of a curve with many corners is the fractal Koch snowflake, which in fact is made of nothing but corners. — Quanta Magazine, "New Geometric Perspective Cracks Old Problem About Rectangles," 25 June 2020 Don’t call me a liberal or a Democrat or a snowflake. — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, "Doc's Morning Line: Wear a mask. Liberty without responsibility is chaos.," 1 July 2020 The delicate crunch and mild taste of pretty snowflake-like salt are ideal for sprinkling on dishes after cooking. — cleveland, "Want to drastically improve your cooking? Get the right types of salt and use them well," 23 June 2020 The strange forms water can take Beyond snowflakes and icicles, frozen water can behave in surprising ways. — Jennifer Weeks, The Conversation, "Winter is coming: 5 essential reads about snow and ice," 12 Dec. 2019 Shortly after Santa’s arrival with Mayor Dan Champagne, the lights at Central Park, wreath on Town Hall, and snowflake at Fox Hill Tower were all lit up to great applause. — Steve Smith, courant.com, "Winterfest Celebration Held In Downtown Rockville," 12 Dec. 2019 The snowflakes are expected to turn into rain later in the evening, which will continue into the weekend, says meteorologist Trent Frey of the National Weather Service station in White Lake. — Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, "Metro Detroit forecast for the next week: Snow, rain, cold," 22 Apr. 2020 The bushes and the smaller trees are lit in red, white and blue, 8-foot candy canes hang from the garage and snowflakes fall from the roof, which is topped with a shining star and an American flag. — Michelle Matthews | Mmatthews@al.com, al, "A Santa in Alabama is spreading Christmas cheer to all who need it," 4 Apr. 2020

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