flowery

• IPA^(key): /ˈflaʊəɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊəɹi
• Homophone: floury (in some accents)

From Middle English floury, equivalent to flower +‎ -y (adjectival suffix).^[1] Piecewise doublet of floury.

• flow'ry (obsolete)

flowery (comparative flowerier or more flowery, superlative floweriest or most flowery)

1. Pertaining to or characteristic of flowers.
   • 1930, Wyndham Lewis, “Dan at the Assembly”, in The Apes of God, New York, N.Y.: Robert M[edill] McBride & Company, published 1932, →OCLC, part XII (Lord Osmund’s Lenten Party), page 464:

     “Sir you are mistaken—I am not——.” But before he could say ‘a girl,’ this ancient period-strumpet of a bedizened man (upon a pattern drawn from a time of swords and silk, when men were in their floweriest scent—savagely tattooed with braid—intoxicated with their own snuff—forever on tiptoe—disgusted with the mannish—wooing Woman after the fashion of women) burst in and silenced him, […]

2. Decorated with or abundant in flowers.

   Synonym: (poetic) flowerful

   • 1879, William Henderson, Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders:

     At last she reached a flowery knoll, at whose feet ran a little burn, shaded with woodbine and wild roses; and there she sat down, burying her face in her hands.

3. Of a speech or piece of writing: overly complicated or elaborate; with grandiloquent expressions; marked by rhetorical elegance.

   Synonyms: bombastic, verbose

   • 2003, Plato, “Apology”, in Hugh Tredennick, Harold Tarrant, transl., The Last Days of Socrates, Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 39:

     My accusers, then, as I maintain, have said little or nothing that is true, but from me you shall hear the whole truth; not, I can assure you, gentlemen, in flowery language like theirs, decked out with fine words and phrases.

4. Melodramatic, overexaggerated.
   • 1972, Miriam A[nna] Franklin, “Use of Hands and Feet”, in Rehearsal: The Principles and Practice of Acting for the Stage, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, →ISBN, part II (Sharpening Theater Tools), chapter 4 (Language of Action), page 60:

     Although flowery actions are used in the plays of the 1890s, waving arms, wringing hands, and pleading with outstretched arms would be unsuitable in plays about modern life.

   • 2007, Vickie McDonough, “A Wealth Beyond Riches”, in Oklahoma Brides: Dreams Come Full Circle in Three Prairie Romances, Uhrichsville, Okla.: Barbour Publishing, published [2008], →ISBN, chapter 7, page 275:

     “Miss, it would be my great pleasure to escort you and your uncle to supper this evening.” Sasha stifled her desire to roll her eyes at his flowery actions, but the fact that he omitted inviting Jim irritated her.

   • 2016 April, Jo Beverley, chapter 39, in The Viscount Needs a Wife (Company of Rogues; 16), New York, N.Y.: Signet Select, →ISBN, page 336:

     He kissed her hand in a way she found just a little flowery.

flowery (plural floweries)

1. (informal, rare) Someone or something considered flowery.
   1. A flowery person.
      • 2004 January 13, DaveK, “All We have To Do To Lose Our Freedom Is Nothing.”, in uk.legal‎^[1] (Usenet), archived from the original on 17 August 2025:

        Now the revolutionaries-the Commies, Ban the Bomb floweries, Hippies, Wierdies with Beardies, Aldermaston Marchers, IRA, Anarchists- are in the driving seat.

      • 2006 January 31, fyfpoon@gmail.com, “Enthralled by Cultural Marxism”, in aus.politics‎^[2] (Usenet), archived from the original on 17 August 2025:

        I think those who happened to end up in the department of 'Critical Method' are a bunch of 'flowery' people who have absolutely NO clue of what Marxism has to say in this regard. […] Marxism has NOTHING to do with what the extremist leftists or rightists or floweries are doing/saying.

      • 2012, Gary Hoover, chapter 17, in Land of Nod, The Prophet, AMH Press, →ISBN, page 61:

        He took a small bite, spit it out nearly immediately, dropped the spoon back in the bowl, and pushed it away. After seeing Jeff’s reaction, Baldwin pushed his untouched bowl toward the center of the table. “Heh, heh, heh, what a couple of floweries,” Dave said, food spraying as he shoveled it into his mouth.

   2. A flowery phrase or statement.
      • 1895, Jack Westropp [pseudonym], “In Which My Appearance Causes the Sovereign Demos to Arise in Its Might”, in Jack Westropp: An Autobiography […], volume II, London: Downey & Co. […], →OCLC, pages 105–106:

        “I am glad to find I have such an eloquent junior,” said he, shaking hands with me. “Just leave me the law and the arguments, and do you take the floweries.” / […] “I am afraid, Magee,” said I, “that neither your law nor my ‘floweries,’ as you call them, will be of much use here. The game is up.” / “Nonsense, man—the game is never up till the verdict is given. Everything depends on the jury. […] And of course we can have a strong alibi or two—eh?”

      • 2002 March 12, Anopheles, “(Story) The Lord Of Miss Rule (5,093 words)”, in alt.fiction.original‎^[3] (Usenet), archived from the original on 17 August 2025:

        It was well done up to that point -- apart from a few sneaky attacks of the floweries.

      • 2008 November 5, Emerging Butterfly, “nothing really”, in alt.support.dissociation‎^[4] (Usenet), archived from the original on 17 August 2025:

        i look forward to the day when someone can just give me feedback without any affirming touchy feely floweries and i can just take the feedback and not take the absence of the floweries as a "By the way, i despise you".

   3. A flowery decoration.
      • 1633, Aristeus, translated by I[ohn] Done, “Of the Presents Sent vnto Eleazer Pontiffe of the Iewes, by King Ptolomeus Philadelphus. And First of the Table of Gold.”, in The Auncient History of the Septuagint. […], London: […] N[icholas] Okes, →OCLC, page 47:

        [H]e gaue in charge to the Gold-ſmiths that were moſt ingenious and of beſt ſpirit to finiſh and accompliſh the buſineſſe, ingrauen and enriched with all variety poſſible: willing that thoſe which ſhould worke in the Borders, Rayſings, Flowries, and Wrappings, Entortilations, and ſuch like; ſhould amuſe themſelues onely for Beautifying and Decoration: […]

        • 1685, Aristeus, translated by John Done, “Of the Presents Sent unto Eleazer, Chief Priest of the Jews, by King Ptolomeus Philadelphus. And First of the Table of Gold.”, in The Ancient History of the Septuagint. […], revised edition, London: […] W[illiam] Hensman, and Tho[mas] Fox, […], →OCLC, pages 34–35:

          [H]e gave it in charge to the Goldſmiths that were moſt ingenious, and of beſt capacity, to finſh and accompliſh the Buſineſs, engraven and adorned with all poſſible Variety: commanding that thoſe who wrought in the Borders, Raiſings, Floweries, Wrappings, Entortilations, and ſuch like; ſhould amuſe themſelves only for Beautifying and Decoration: […]

      • 1958, Brendan Behan, part 2, in Borstal Boy, London: Hutchinson & Co., →OCLC, page 143:

        ‘’Aven’t they got no floweries ’ere?’ he asked, looking round at the row of beds. ‘This is like a bleedin’ lodgin’ ’ouse—or like the bleedin’ snotty orphans.’

      • 1968, Godfrey Blunden, “On the Consequences of Being Neaped”, in Charco Harbour […], New York, N.Y.: Vanguard Press, →ISBN, page 262:

        ‘Oh, you do be taking hoff them floweries,’ a voice would say suddenly behind him. / ‘Don’t you wish you was an artisty, Joe? Naught to do all day but sit on yer arse.’

From flower +‎ -y (diminutive suffix).

flowery (plural floweries)

1. (informal, rare) Diminutive of flower.
   • 1925, “Chanticleer and Pertelote: Retold from the Nun’s Priest’s Tale by [Geoffrey] Chaucer”, in Olive Beaupré Miller, editor, Up One Pair of Stairs of My Bookhouse (My Bookhouse; 2), Chicago, Ill.: The Bookhouse for Children, →OCLC, page 84:

     Hearken these blissful birdies how they sing, / And see the freshé floweries, how they spring!”

   • 1963, Jane Duncan [pseudonym; Elizabeth Jane Cameron], chapter 10, in My Friend Madame Zora, London: Pan Books, published 1966, →OCLC, page 208:

     That pottie’s too wee for six, Minnie, lassie. Go ben to the room press and you’ll see a big brown one with blue floweries on it.

   • 1966 June 23, Sybil Thorndike, letter; quoted in John Casson, “‘When We Are Old, Are Old’”, in Lewis & Sybil: A Memoir, London: Collins, 1972, →ISBN, page 320:

     I wore a white dress with yellow, grey and black floweries on it and a large white hat.

   • 2023, Vivian French, “An Enchanted Garden”, in Bibi and the Box of Fairy Tales, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

     Us was goody goody garden workers… us growed pretty floweries for our fairy.

From flower +‎ -ery.

flowery (plural floweries)

1. (rare) A place where flowers grow.
   • 1914 April, Grasmere [pseudonym], “April Days on Canada’s Farms”, in Farmer’s Magazine, Toronto, Ont.: Maclean Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 85, column 1:

     Poppies make very showy floweries and should be planted lightly in the spots where they are intended to be grown.

   • 1919, Harry Collins Spillman, “The Old Home Town”, in Personality: Studies in Personal Development, New York, N.Y.: The Gregg Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 110:

     I have visited the rose gardens of California and basked in the artificial floweries of Luther Burbank, but back in my heart’s country, ’twixt the cave and the thorn tree, one may pluck a tulip or an old-fashioned “Jack in the Pulpit” scattering incense and pollen of the fairest flower of all the springtime.

   • 1925, Frances S. Burns, “A Woodland Meadow”, in Stone & Webster Journal, volume 37, Boston, Mass.: Stone & Webster, →OCLC, page 607:

     Charles River Basin, classical Technology, the West Bridge, ivy-hung walls of Charles River Square and Brimmer Street, rollicking children and green embankment failed on hot May days to charm away the consciousness of an apartment home, paved streets and brick walls, noises and gas and smoke, and a few dejected flowers in a single bowl which represented all of living beauty that a limited flower budget could encompass. (We always passed the opulent floweries of Boylston Street with the empty longing of a hungry child whose nose is flattened against a caterer’s window.)

   • 2012 February 28, Fabrizio J Bonsignore, “Women run differently from Men, dont they? And flowers...”, in ny.general‎^[5] (Usenet), archived from the original on 17 August 2025:

     While Men were foraging in the floweries and picking nuts and flowers and seeds and other such small foraging items while having to escape from other kind of predators, it is their running that still shows the kind of balance needed to speed on hard(er) surfaces.

• fowlery, rye wolf