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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

Etymology

Origin of magnolia

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

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

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

The scientists tested birch, cherry, and a kind of Japanese magnolia called honoki.

From NewsForKids.net ● Nov. 6, 2024

I reached up for the nearest branch of the magnolia tree above us, and I quietly snapped it in two, leaving a heavy blossom at the end to dangle like a fragrant chandelier.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

They asked family and neighborhood chat groups for information about Magnolia, and hired someone to check lists of survivors, wounded and missing in hospitals across Caracas.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

The fire, dubbed the Max fire, broke out around 4:20 p.m. in the hiking area of Pico Canyon Park, near Magnolia Lane, according to the Fire Department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

For 1927’s “Show Boat,” he served as the dance coach for Norma Terris, the original Magnolia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

In 2013, the last Masters for Bennett, he drove Arnold Palmer back to the airport and they both got teary rolling back down Magnolia Lane and out of the club.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

For almost a year now, folks have been using Jimmy’s as a party spot, kinda like they do Magnolia Ave on Friday nights.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

English oaks are losing leaves on the canopy and producing deadwood, he says, and Norway Maple and magnolias are showing signs of stress.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025

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

There was the drenching hospitality in the pervading smell of sweet magnolias.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright