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• violet
  violet

  noun

  any chiefly low, stemless or leafy-stemmed plant of the genus Viola, having purple, blue, yellow, white, or variegated flowers.
• Violet
  Violet

  noun

  a female given name.

violet

¹ American  

[vahy-uh-lit] / ˈvaɪ ə lɪt /

noun

• violets
  plural

1. any chiefly low, stemless or leafy-stemmed plant of the genus Viola, having purple, blue, yellow, white, or variegated flowers.

2. any such plant except the pansy and the viola.

3. the flower of any native, wild species of violet, as distinguished from the pansy: the state flower of Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

4. any of various similar plants of other genera.

5. reddish-blue, a color at the opposite end of the visible spectrum from red, an effect of light with a wavelength between 400 and 450 nanometers.

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adjective

1. of the color violet; reddish-blue.

   violet hats.

Violet ² American  

[vahy-uh-lit] / ˈvaɪ ə lɪt /

Also Violette

noun

1. a female given name.

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violet British  

/ ˈvaɪəlɪt /

noun

1. any of various temperate perennial herbaceous plants of the violaceous genus Viola, such as V. odorata ( sweet (or garden ) violet ), typically having mauve or bluish flowers with irregular showy petals

2. any other plant of the genus Viola, such as the wild pansy

3. any of various similar but unrelated plants, such as the African violet

4. 1. any of a group of colours that vary in saturation but have the same purplish-blue hue. They lie at one end of the visible spectrum, next to blue; approximate wavelength range 445–390 nanometres

   2. ( as adjective )

      a violet dress

5. a dye or pigment of or producing these colours

6. violet clothing

   dressed in violet

7. informal a shy person

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violet Idioms  

1. see shrinking violet.

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Usage

violet flower A violet is a flower known for its vibrant bluish-purple color (the basis of the name of the color violet). The name violet can refer to any flower in the genus Viola, some of which are other colors (including blue, yellow, and white) or are variegated. The most well-known variety is called the common blue violet. The violet family contains many different species of plants, including trees and shrubs. The violet is the state flower of Illinois, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island. It’s also one of the February birth flowers (a flower that’s associated with a particular month in the same way as a birthstone). Violets are often said to represent modesty. The idiom shrinking violet refers to someone who is shy or (overly) modest. Example: For my birthday, my wife always gives me a bouquet of beautiful violets.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• violet-like
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• violets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of violet

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French violete, equivalent to viole (from Latin viola violet) + -ete diminutive suffix; see -et

Explanation

Roses are red, violets are blue...actually, violets are closer to purple — but purple doesn't rhyme with anything. The word violet can refer either to a purplish-blue color or to the tiny flower of that color. On the color spectrum, violet is a variation on purple that sits a bit closer to blue than red. The color violet comes from the flower name, which is rooted in the Latin viola. The violet is a plant with small flowers that vary in color from pale violet to dark blue, as well as white. If you're coloring violets in a coloring book, you can choose the violet crayon!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

violet Violet violets

Suddenly, the world is plunged into an eerie, violet darkness.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Attendees are encouraged to wear indigo, deep blue or violet colors to get fully immersed in the Sunday gathering on Aug. 9. 10-11 a.m.,

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Claire’s, the accessories store and mall staple that has pierced the ears of more than 131 million customers over the decades, had long built its brand with a distinctive shade of bright violet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

The light softened toward sunset, an evening echo of the same violet sky that hovered over Julian at the start of the day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026

Helen the beautiful came down from her fragrant chamber attended by her women, one carrying her chair, another a soft carpet for her feet, and a third her silver workbasket filled with violet wool.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Cordelia Violet Paap, a 12th-grader and student body president at Tallinn Pelgulinna State, delivered a poem railing against AI before a school talent show in March.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

At the time of the arrest, a small crowd of Pokémon fans was camped outside of the Best Buy waiting to purchase the latest set of trading cards, the Scarlet & Violet 151 expansion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

Violet ended up going to Italy where she learnt the language and "did good works", said her great-niece, adding: "It was that kind of age where rich people gave alms to the poor."

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026

In the main, it responds to another Bluesky user, Violet, who challenged Black to think about how he can better use his influence as an advocate.

From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2026

Long shadows promised it would be dark before long, but Eulie and Violet were still working outside.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

Fresh and elegant, with serious tannins, aromas of violets and roses and flavors including pomegranate and big, ripe red berries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

“Mike took it and made it incredibly subtle: flesh with the violets and the purples and the pearlescence,” Del Toro says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025

Cover the stores’ coffins in the faded iconography of their shopping bags: respectively, a spray of violets, brown and white stripes and a single red rose.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2024

Use a cosmetic brush to clean the fuzzy leaves of plants like African violets.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024

I hurried past the stone fence that surrounded the white graveyard, to the split-rail fence that marked our ground, and stopped outside the gate to pick a handful of chilly violets, wet with dew.

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Related Words

• color
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• lilac
• mauve
• periwinkle
• plum