Rhododendron
//ɹoʊdəˈdɛndɹən// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Oleander (Nerium oleander). obsolete
- 2 any shrub of the genus Rhododendron: evergreen shrubs or small shrubby trees having leathery leaves and showy clusters of campanulate (bell-shaped) flowers wordnet
- 3 Any of various flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron, especially
- 4 Any of various flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron, especially; Pontic rhododendron, common rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum) UK
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"I looked round me. I was on what seemed to be a little lawn in a garden, surrounded by rhododendron bushes, and I noticed that their mauve and purple blossoms were dropping in a shower under the beating of the hail-stones."
Etymology
The obsolete sense derives from Latin rhododendron (“oleander”), from Ancient Greek ῥοδόδενδρον (rhodódendron, “oleander”), from ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”) + δένδρον (déndron, “tree”). The modern sense comes through the intermediary of the genus name Rhododendron, not closely related taxonomically, but with similar flowers to those of oleander.
Related phrases
More for "rhododendron"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.