1
as in ornate
elaborately and often excessively decorated
a florid, gilded mirror that took up most of the wall
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rhetorical
full of fine words and fancy expressions
gave a florid speech in honor of the queen's visit
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in glowing
having a healthy reddish skin tone
a man with a florid complexion
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of florid
It’s been a quarter century since the mostly Canadian supergroup New Pornographers sprang from the florid imagination of Carl Newman, a pop savant with an angel’s voice and switchblade wit.
—
Elizabeth Nelson, Pitchfork, 8 Apr. 2026
Neolithic art in Orkney tends to be angular and abstract—less florid than the spirals seen in Irish tombs.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
As the two plunge in and out of dreams, the movie serves up a series of florid set pieces, most of which serve no narrative purpose beyond their eyeball-tickling show-reel dimension.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Nov. 2025
McNamara’s screenplays are equally strange and enchanting, but also florid, absurd and randy.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for florid
Elizabeth Nelson, Pitchfork, 8 Apr. 2026
Neolithic art in Orkney tends to be angular and abstract—less florid than the spirals seen in Irish tombs.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
As the two plunge in and out of dreams, the movie serves up a series of florid set pieces, most of which serve no narrative purpose beyond their eyeball-tickling show-reel dimension.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Nov. 2025
McNamara’s screenplays are equally strange and enchanting, but also florid, absurd and randy.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for florid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for florid
Adjective
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Ladies who lunch at The George cross paths with ladies who launch (startups, that is), men in smart suits are occasionally gala-bound, and creatives on laptops greet locals stopping in for a drink or afternoon tea under the ornate ceilings.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 May 2026
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The insider added that the mom-to-be repeatedly gushed over the ornate decorations.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
But both men benefit from a shock-and-awe rhetorical strategy.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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Hosts sometimes have an argumentative style or adopt rhetorical strategies such as irony, jokes, and humor.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
13 May 2026
Adjective
-
Neither was a glowing example of how to win in the playoffs, but the Sabres deserve full marks for sticking with it and taking over the game.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
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At the mid-sized company, any inquiries to the AI agent would come back with glowing comments about the vendor.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
Purple-striped are large silvery white with deep purple bands.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado,
Sacbee.com,
20 May 2026
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Georgia is much more purple and has two Democratic senators.—
Domenico Montanaro,
NPR,
20 May 2026
Adjective
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The biggest is Theroux’s overly tanned and idiotic tech billionaire Benji Barnes, who is dating Emily (Emily Blunt) after recently divorcing his cool wife Sasha Barnes (Lucy Liu) and leaving her with billions.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
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The ex-spies blended in nicely among the engineers, techies, and tanned retirees from law enforcement and government-adjacent jobs.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In the lounge room, beige sofas bordered a deep-red Oriental rug worn smooth in places by years of use.—
Rania Abouzeid,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
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The red Powerball ranges from 1 to 26.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
21 May 2026
Adjective
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These are massive stars in their later stages, swollen and ruddy, shining bright across the cosmos.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
3 May 2026
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The color is a deep, ruddy amber brown, and the nose is full of alcohol and oak.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Insider tip Stephanie, the innkeeper, is an innkeeper in the truest sense—warm, soft-spoken, and genuinely concerned about guests’ well-being.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 May 2026
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In warm weather, your kitchen can get unpleasantly hot when cooking in a standard oven.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Florid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/florid. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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