safflower
Americannoun
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a thistlelike composite plant, Carthamus tinctorius, native to the Old World, having finely toothed leaves and large, orange-red flower heads.
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its dried florets, used medicinally or as a red dyestuff.
noun
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a thistle-like Eurasian annual plant, Carthamus tinctorius, having large heads of orange-yellow flowers and yielding a dye and an oil used in paints, medicines, etc: family Asteraceae (composites)
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a red dye used for cotton and for colouring foods and cosmetics, or a drug obtained from the florets of this plant
Etymology
Origin of safflower
1575–85; < Dutch saffloer < Middle French safleur, alteration (assimilated to safran saffron and fleur flower ) of Italian asfori < Arabic aṣfar yellow
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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.
Researchers are now examining how oxylipins lead to weight gain and whether similar reactions occur with other oils high in linoleic acid, including corn, sunflower, and safflower oils.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025
In addition to tomatoes and cotton, the area’s farms produce crops such as safflower, alfalfa and pistachios, some of which ended up underwater during the flooding two years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2025
To back up, omega-6 is found in seeds and vegetables and the oils extracted from them — oils like soybean, corn, canola, cottonseed, safflower and sunflower.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2023
For some oil and vinegar dressings, you might want a more neutrally flavored oil, like safflower or grapeseed.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 21, 2023
A few vegetable dyestuffs belong to this class, notably Turmeric, saffron, annatto and safflower, but they all yield colours which are fugitive to light, and they are now of little importance.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 8 "Dubner" to "Dyeing" by Various
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.
