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ranunculus

British  
/ rəˈnʌŋkjʊləs /

noun

  1. any ranunculaceous plant of the genus Ranunculus , having finely divided leaves and typically yellow five-petalled flowers. The genus includes buttercup, crowfoot, spearwort, and lesser celandine

"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

Etymology

Origin of ranunculus

C16: from Latin: tadpole, from rāna a frog

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:

Tables were dressed in green linens and had seasonal spring bouquets featuring butterfly ranunculus, phlox, and lily of the valley.

From BBC Apr. 28, 2026

Visitors can buy ranunculus and other items at an on-site Armstrong Garden Center shop.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 25, 2025

Long Beach Realtors Loree Scarborough and Tessa Owen were holding several fat bundles of blue hydrangeas around 8:30 a.m. while considering long stems of orange ranunculus for a client appreciation event later that day.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 20, 2024

For the newly opened Italian restaurant Dalla in East London, she sourced silver candlestick-shaped vases attributed to the Viennese designer Carl Auböck, furnishing each with a single, barely trimmed stem of white ‘Butterfly’ ranunculus.

From New York Times Mar. 15, 2024

One moment if you please—with golden dandelions, buttercups and white-weed— Poh!—pish!—Why don't you say with the dent-de-lion, the ranunculus and the crysanthimum?

From Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 5. May 1848 by Robert Taylor Conrad

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