What does "catchfly" mean?

Any of several plants, mostly in tribe Sileneae, that have sticky leaves on which flies become stuck; especially, the silenes or campions.

What is a synonym for "catchfly"?

Common synonyms include: bladder campion, campion, campion, lychnis, lychnis, silene.

How do you pronounce "catchfly"?

Pronounced //ˈkæt͡ʃ.flaɪ//.

Catchfly

//ˈkæt͡ʃ.flaɪ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of several plants, mostly in tribe Sileneae, that have sticky leaves on which flies become stuck; especially, the silenes or campions.
"“What on earth did you put in that stuff?” “Bug-bane, barren-wort, penny-cress and blood-root, catchfly, toad-flax, nap-weed and wormwood,” said Catweazle."
2
mostly perennial herbs with sticky stems that catch insects; widespread in north temperate zone wordnet
3
any plant of the genus Silene wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

bladder campion campion campion lychnis lychnis silene

Example

More examples

"“What on earth did you put in that stuff?” “Bug-bane, barren-wort, penny-cress and blood-root, catchfly, toad-flax, nap-weed and wormwood,” said Catweazle."

Etymology

From catch + fly.

More for "catchfly"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.