pulvinate

[ puhl-vuh-neyt ]

/ ˈpʌl vəˌneɪt /

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adjective

having the shape of a cushion; resembling a cushion; cushion-shaped.

having a pulvinus.

Also pulvinar .Architecture. (of a frieze or the like) having a convex surface from top to bottom.

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Also pul·vi·nat·ed

[puhl-vuh-ney-tid] /ˈpʌl vəˌneɪ tɪd/ .

Origin of pulvinate

1815–25; <Latin pulvīnātus cushioned, equivalent to pulvīn(us) cushion + -ātus-ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM pulvinate

pul·vi·nate·ly, adverbun·pul·vi·nate, adjectiveun·pul·vi·nat·ed, adjective

Words nearby pulvinate

pulverable, pulverize, pulverulent, pulvillus, pulvinar, pulvinate, pulvinus, puma, pumelo, pumice, pumice country

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pulvinate in a sentence

Pulvinate: Surface the segment of a circle, but decidedly convex (Fig. 143, d).
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre
The pileus is pulvinate-ungulate, much dilated, deeply sulcate; cinnamon, then brown or blackish; very much cracked or rimose.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise|M. E. Hard
Patouillard claims that Hypoxylon melanaspis has same spores and structure, and is the pulvinate form of Camillea Leprieurii.
Synopsis of Some Genera of the Large Pyrenomycetes|C. G. Lloyd
The pileus is somewhat coriaceous, firm, pulvinate, villous.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise|M. E. Hard

British Dictionary definitions for pulvinate

pulvinate

pulvinated

/ (ˈpʌlvɪˌneɪt) /

adjective

architect (of a frieze) curved convexly; having a swelling

botany

shaped like a cushion
(of a leafstalk) having a pulvinus

Word Origin for pulvinate

C19: from Latin pulvīnātus cushion-shaped

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