wisteria

American  

[wi-steer-ee-uh] / wɪˈstɪər i ə /

Also wistaria

noun

• wisterias
  plural

1. any climbing shrub belonging to the genus Wisteria, of the legume family, having showy, pendent clusters of blue-violet, white, purple, or rose flowers.

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wisteria British  

/ wɪˈstɪərɪə /

noun

1. any twining leguminous woody climbing plant of the genus Wisteria, of E Asia and North America, having blue, purple, or white flowers in large drooping clusters

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• wisterias
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wisteria

< New Latin Wistaria (1818), named after Caspar Wistar (1761–1818), U.S. anatomist; see -ia

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wisteria wisterias

"I thought I would catch Lady Bridgerton at the Bridgerton House," she says, "but there were no wisteria or carriages to be seen."

From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026

She says it made her appreciate the show's dressing and post-production work, with the exterior transformed with wisteria and made to look like it was surrounded by other properties.

From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026

There were often surprise presents delivered in the truck: One birthday, it was a purple wisteria tree; one Valentine’s day, it was a vintage O’Keefe & Merritt stove.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025

A venerable wisteria dripping with chains of purple blooms is breathtaking.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024

It fell over a wisteria root and lay there with its wheels spinning.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

Along the northeastern side of the Mall, and elevated about twenty feet above it, is a rustic bower of iron trellis work, over which are trained wisterias, honeysuckle, and rose vines. 

From Lights and Shadows of New York Life or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City by James Dabney McCabe

Esperance rose up quickly, wrapping a robe of blue Japanese crêpe embroidered in pink wisterias about her, and gracefully fastened up her hair.

From The Idol of Paris by Sarah Bernhardt

Under the elm trees along the Mall the air was purple as wisterias.

From Youth and the Bright Medusa by Willa Sibert Cather

Here we meet crowds of pilgrims enjoying the beautiful groves with old trunks of trees covered with camellias, wisterias, plum and wild ivy, which are the marvels of the place.

From My Trip Around the World August, 1895-May, 1896 by Eleonora Hunt

And through the tangle of what once must have been a splendid orchard, they caught a glimpse of white walls overgrown with a mad profusion of wild roses, wisterias and columbines.

From Darkness and Dawn by George Allan England