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Showing results for bougainvillea. Search instead for bougainvillea glabra.

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:

In a neighbourhood close to the scene of the attack - where plush villas and foreign embassies sit behind high walls, topped with bougainvillea - the streets lay empty.

From BBC Sep. 10, 2025

I said these things as if I were asking, “Aren’t I amazing?” and “Isn’t looking at me next to a bougainvillea spectacular?”

From Los Angeles Times May 16, 2025

What’s more, they’re often framed by colorful bougainvillea, fragrant jasmine and photogenic palm trees.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 6, 2024

Vines: Some popular vines that can grow up a wall include plants such as grapes, passion fruit and bougainvillea.

From Seattle Times Aug. 25, 2023

He got up and stretched and went around to the front yard and looked at the violet bougainvillea that crept up the walls.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

But the crotons were lusher than ever and the variegated bougainvilleas she hadn’t thought would take were heavy with pink blossoms.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

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