ranunculus

British

/ rəˈnʌŋkjʊləs /

noun

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:

ranunculus

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

Besides the ranunculus fields, the ranch’s offerings this spring include:

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2025

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

A species of crow-foot, or ranunculus, growing plentifully in pastures; ranunculus pratensis.

From The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire by James Jennings

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023