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bougainvillea

American  
[boo-guhn-vil-ee-uh, -vil-yuh, boh-] / ˌbu gənˈvɪl i ə, -ˈvɪl jə, ˌboʊ- /

noun

bougainvilleas plural
  1. any of several shrubs or vines of the genus Bougainvillea, native to South America, having small flowers with showy, variously colored bracts, and often cultivated in warm regions.


bougainvillea British  
/ ˌbuːɡənˈvɪlɪə /

noun

  1. any tropical woody nyctaginaceous widely cultivated climbing plant of the genus Bougainvillea , having inconspicuous flowers surrounded by showy red or purple bracts

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of bougainvillea

1789; < New Latin, named after L. A. de Bougainville

Vocabulary lists containing bougainvillea

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Its entrance is sealed with a crude brick-and-mud wall, and an overgrown bougainvillea, bright with pink blooms, spills over the front boundary.

From BBC Nov. 25, 2025

Along with a white bike, the memorial is adorned with bougainvillea, a plaque with George’s name and a sign on a street pole.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 19, 2023

The centerpiece of Anderson’s collection was a bold and surreal high-waisted silhouette, with pants in hues of camel, grey, brown, and black occasionally touched by vivid splashes of red, bougainvillea, and tangerine.

From Seattle Times Sep. 29, 2023

Magenta explosions of bougainvillea frothed over the kitchen’s gates and the cinder-block walls of the vacant lot next door.

From Los Angeles Times May 10, 2023

Gladys was busier than ever, polishing silver, preparing canapes, following her mistress through the house with vases of calla lilies and bougainvillea.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

When Rower mentioned from across the table that his grandparents adored bougainvilleas, he seemed to be floating the idea to see Oudolf’s reaction about whether they would work in Calder Gardens.

From New York Times Sep. 7, 2022

She cares for every herb and weed in the gardens she tends but she has a special place in her heart for the vibrant fuchsia blooms of bougainvilleas — vining shrubs with hidden sharp thorns.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 9, 2022

There’s something invigorating about tackling your to-dos among walls of ferns or billowing bougainvilleas.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 1, 2022

He then sat down with other volunteers in a shaded eating area prettied with multicolored bougainvilleas to fret about if their work even had a place in today’s Catholic Church.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 21, 2021

By the end of the week, Pita got up and hobbled about the courtyard of Hacienda Dorada, clapping and laughing at the girls as they chased mariposas around the wide, robust bougainvilleas.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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