What does "florid" mean?

Having a rosy or pale red colour; ruddy.

What is a synonym for "florid"?

Common synonyms include: flamboyant, rubicund, adorned, aeon, age, arabesque.

//ˈflɒɹɪd// adj

adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Adjective

1
Having a rosy or pale red colour; ruddy.
2
Elaborately ornate; flowery.
3
In a blatant, vivid, or highly disorganized state.
"florid psychosis"
4
Flourishing; in the bloom of health. obsolete
"Mean while Peregrine guessing the good fortune of his friend, and allured by the attractions of the maid, who was a cleanly florid girl, employed his address to such effectual purpose, that she yielded to his efforts; and he was as happy as such a conquest could make him."

Adjective

1
inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life wordnet
2
elaborately or excessively ornamented wordnet

"Her prose is full of needlessly florid, cliched descriptions, securing her career as a romance novelist."

From French floride (“flourishing”), from Latin floridus (“flowery, blooming”). Doublet of Florida.

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