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View synonyms for

wallflower

[ wawl-flou-er ]

noun

  1. a person who, because of shyness, unpopularity, or lack of a partner, remains at the side at a party or dance.
  2. any person, organization, etc., that remains on or has been forced to the sidelines of any activity:

    The firm was a wallflower in this year's bidding for government contracts.

  3. a European plant, Cheiranthus cheiri, of the mustard family, that, when growing wild on walls, cliffs, etc., has sweet-scented, usually yellow or orange flowers, but when cultivated has flowers varying in color from pale yellow to brown-red or purple.
  4. any of several related plants of the genera Cheiranthus and Erysimum.


wallflower

/ ˈ·Éɔ˱ôËŒ´Ú±ô²¹ÊŠÉ™ /

noun

  1. Also calledgillyflower a plant, Cheiranthus cheiri, of S Europe, grown for its clusters of yellow, orange, brown, red, or purple fragrant flowers and naturalized on old walls, cliffs, etc: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
  2. any of numerous other crucifers of the genera Cheiranthus and Erysimum, having orange or yellow flowers
  3. informal.
    a person who stays on the fringes of a dance or party on account of lacking a partner or being shy
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of wallflower1

First recorded in 1570–80; wall + flower
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Example Sentences

In it, Streep’s character, a fading but indomitable Hollywood actress named Madeline Ashton, is reunited with her old friend, Hawn’s wallflower novelist Helen Sharp.

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Until now, her character, Penelope Featherington, has been content to be a wallflower in the ballrooms of Regency London, allowing her to observe and secretly write a society scandal sheet under the pseudonym Lady Whistledown.

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Some wallflowers also have red, white or purple blooms, and the plants will reseed to grow back in the spring.

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McInerny gives an especially strong performance as Sam’s dependable sister — a wallflower who delivers the most incendiary line of the play.

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Audiences rallied behind her relatable Toula Portokalos, a wallflower Chicago waitress who straightened both her hair and her spine despite the protests of her domineering family.

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