any chiefly low, stemless or leafy-stemmed plant of the genus Viola, having purple, blue, yellow, white, or variegated flowers.
any such plant except the pansy and the viola.
the flower of any native, wild species of violet, as distinguished from the pansy: the state flower of Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
any of various similar plants of other genera.
reddish-blue, a color at the opposite end of the visible spectrum from red, an effect of light with a wavelength between 400 and 450 nanometers.
any of various temperate perennial herbaceous plants of the violaceous genus Viola, such as V. odorata ( sweet (or garden ) violet ), typically having mauve or bluish flowers with irregular showy petals
any other plant of the genus Viola, such as the wild pansy
any of various similar but unrelated plants, such as the African violet
any of a group of colours that vary in saturation but have the same purplish-blue hue. They lie at one end of the visible spectrum, next to blue; approximate wavelength range 445–390 nanometres
( as adjective )
a violet dress
a dye or pigment of or producing these colours
violet clothing
dressed in violet
informal a shy person
violet flower A violet is a flower known for its vibrant bluish-purple color (the basis of the name of the color violet). The name violet can refer to any flower in the genus Viola, some of which are other colors (including blue, yellow, and white) or are variegated. The most well-known variety is called the common blue violet. The violet family contains many different species of plants, including trees and shrubs. The violet is the state flower of Illinois, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island. It’s also one of the February birth flowers (a flower that’s associated with a particular month in the same way as a birthstone). Violets are often said to represent modesty. The idiom shrinking violet refers to someone who is shy or (overly) modest. Example: For my birthday, my wife always gives me a bouquet of beautiful violets.
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French violete, equivalent to viole (from Latin viola violet) + -ete diminutive suffix; see -et
Roses are red, violets are blue...actually, violets are closer to purple — but purple doesn't rhyme with anything. The word violet can refer either to a purplish-blue color or to the tiny flower of that color. On the color spectrum, violet is a variation on purple that sits a bit closer to blue than red. The color violet comes from the flower name, which is rooted in the Latin viola. The violet is a plant with small flowers that vary in color from pale violet to dark blue, as well as white. If you're coloring violets in a coloring book, you can choose the violet crayon!
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The author promises discoveries as well as a fresh take on the familiar, including 19th-century paintings by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Charles-François Daubigny, a violet Caspar David Friedrich moonscape and plenty of Georgia O’Keeffe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
I dream of lizards, dark skies, sand dunes and sunsets streaked in rose-mauve and smoky violet, the air heavy with the scent of wet creosote and campfire smoke.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026
The show opened with a series of violet, green and silver sequined tops in a 1920s style -- reproductions of a bodice designed by early 20th-century French designer Paul Poiret who Anderson namechecked as inspiration.
From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026
They both said you don't want "a shrinking violet".
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025
Her violet eyes looked bigger than ever in her heart-shaped face.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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.
