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• magnolia
  magnolia

  noun

  any shrub or tree of the genus Magnolia, having large, usually fragrant flowers and an aromatic bark, much cultivated for ornament.
• Magnolia
  Magnolia

  noun

  a city in SW Arkansas.

magnolia

¹ American  

[mag-nohl-yuh, -noh-lee-uh] / mægˈnoʊl jə, -ˈnoʊ li ə /

noun

• magnolias
  plural

1. any shrub or tree of the genus Magnolia, having large, usually fragrant flowers and an aromatic bark, much cultivated for ornament.

2. the blossom of any such shrub or tree, as of the evergreen magnolia tree: the state flower of Louisiana and Mississippi.

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Magnolia ² American  

[mag-nohl-yuh, -noh-lee-uh] / mægˈnoʊl jə, -ˈnoʊ li ə /

noun

1. a city in SW Arkansas.

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magnolia British  

/ mæɡˈnəʊlɪə /

noun

1. any tree or shrub of the magnoliaceous genus Magnolia of Asia and North America: cultivated for their white, pink, purple, or yellow showy flowers

2. the flower of any of these plants

3. a very pale pinkish-white or purplish-white colour

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• magnolias
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of magnolia

< New Latin (Linnaeus), after Pierre Magnol (1638–1715), French botanist; see -ia

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

magnolia Magnolia magnolias

We had a massive magnolia tree in the front yard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

Great British Chefs specified that tonka’s “most distinctive feature” is their “enormous potency — heady vanilla flavours, with oily clove aromas, and perfumed magnolia, sandalwood notes.”

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2025

Then I saw the magnolia tree that sits on the hill that is our front yard … with just sky behind it.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2025

To turn a magnolia leaf into circuit board material, Nair first stripped it down to its skeleton by chemically removing the leaf’s cells.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 24, 2024

Doha’s own courtyard was lush, with pink peonies and golden forsythias, magnolia and plum trees, and azalea bushes that bloomed to a man’s height.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

Meg Edmonds' daughter, Magnolia, died aged just 10 days in February and it is suspected the virus may have been passed on by her mother.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Thanks to a WhatsApp group, neighbors from the 14-story Petunia building where Magnolia lived were able to connect with those looking for their relatives -- from the US, Spain, Dominican Republic, Panama and Ecuador.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

An owner for the Magnolia couldn’t be reached for comment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

That he lived in Oakland on Magnolia Street.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

He said that plants like magnolias and rhododendrons that flower on last year's growth got a boost from the weather in 2025 and are now flowering perhaps seven to 14 days earlier than normal.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026

My street has magnolias on it; when they bloom, it takes me back to the magnolias on the street in North Hollywood I lived on when I was a kid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025

You will fast be dreaming of a cool breeze under a canopy of mossy live oaks and waxing poetic about longleaf southern pines and fragrant magnolias.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2024

Then forsythia, daffodils, magnolias, robins, and cherry trees, on down the line.

From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2024

The sunrise turned the sky to red gold, and the warm steamy air smelled of magnolias and roses.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

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