dahlia
Americannoun
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any composite plant of the genus Dahlia, native to Mexico and Central America and widely cultivated for its showy, variously colored flower heads.
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the flower or tuberous root of a dahlia.
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a pale violet or amethyst color.
adjective
noun
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any herbaceous perennial plant of the Mexican genus Dahlia , having showy flowers and tuberous roots, esp any horticultural variety derived from D. pinnata : family Asteraceae (composites)
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the flower or root of any of these plants
Etymology
Origin of dahlia
1791; < New Latin, named after Anders Dahl (died 1789), Swedish botanist; -ia
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.
“I didn’t want to completely lose my old self, but I wanted to let it wilt in a way,” they say, explaining how they saw themselves reflected in the dahlia.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026
A total eclipse of the sun is said to look like a black dahlia or a monochrome sunflower.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2024
Named for the dahlia flower whose petals bloom in concentric arrays , the dahliagram's "petals" illustrate the relative impact of different pull and push factors contributing to human behavior over time.
From Science Daily • Nov. 22, 2023
As the dahlia shows turn up, more and more people turn up.
From BBC • Sep. 29, 2023
She was bent over a dahlia bush with a pair of scissors.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
