The tall man wore a pink carnation in his lapel.
Source: tatoeba (713026)
Carnation
/kɑɹˈneɪ.ʃən/
Synonyms for "carnation" (39 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (8)
Strong matches (12)
Related words (19)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: bloom, blossom, cardinal, carmine, cerise.
- Sentence evidence is available for carnation, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from opengloss, derived_reverse, wordnet.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "carnation".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "carnation"
Keep "carnation" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "carnation" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "carnation", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "carnation" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
7 entriesMore specific
10 entriesMothers Day carnationblush pinkfuchsiafuneral carnationhot pinkminiature carnationrose pinkspray carnationstandard carnationwedding carnation
Collocations
6 entriescarnation bouquetcarnation petalscarnation scentpink carnationred carnationwhite carnation
Inflections
1 entriessimilar
1 entriesTranslations
109 translations across 57 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- angelier noun (flower)
Albanian
1 entries- karafil noun (plant)
Arabic
4 entries- قرنفل noun (plant)
- قَرَنْفُل noun (plant)
- قَرَنْفُل noun (flower)
- قُرُنْفُل noun (plant)
Armenian
3 entries- ղարանֆիլ noun (plant)
- մեխակ noun (plant)
- մեխակ noun (flower)
Basque
1 entries- krabelin noun (plant)
Bulgarian
2 entries- карамфил noun (plant)
- карамфил noun (flower)
Burmese
1 entries- ဇော်မွှား noun (flower)
Catalan
3 entries- clavell noun (plant)
- clavell noun (flower)
- clavellina noun (plant)
Chinese
2 entries- 剪絨花 /剪绒花 noun (plant)
- 剪絨花 /剪绒花 noun (flower)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 康乃馨 noun (flower)
Chinese Mandarin
2 entries- 康乃馨 noun (plant)
- 康乃馨 noun (flower)
Czech
3 entries- hvozdík noun (plant)
- karafiát noun (plant)
- karafiát noun (flower)
Danish
2 entries- nellike noun (plant)
- nellike noun (flower)
Dutch
4 entries- anjelier noun (plant)
- anjelier noun (flower)
- anjer noun (plant)
- anjer noun (flower)
Esperanto
2 entries- dianto noun (plant)
- dianto noun (flower)
Estonian
1 entries- nelk noun (flower)
Faroese
2 entries- nelikur noun (plant)
- nelikur noun (flower)
Finnish
2 entries- neilikka noun (flower)
- tarhaneilikka noun (plant)
French
2 entries- œillet noun (plant)
- œillet noun (flower)
Galician
3 entries- caravel noun (plant)
- caravel noun (flower)
- caraveleira noun (plant)
German
4 entries- Gartennelke noun (plant)
- Nelke noun (plant)
- Nelke noun (flower)
- Nägeli noun (flower)
Greek
2 entries- γαρυφαλλιά noun (plant)
- γαρύφαλλο noun (flower)
Hebrew
1 entries- צִפֹּרֶן noun (flower)
Hungarian
1 entries- szegfű noun (flower)
Indonesian
2 entries- bunga anyelir noun (flower)
- bunga teluki noun (flower)
Italian
2 entries- garofano noun (plant)
- garofano noun (flower)
Japanese
1 entries- カーネーション noun (flower)
Kazakh
1 entries- қалампыр noun (plant)
Korean
2 entries- 카네이션 noun (plant)
- 카네이션 noun (flower)
Lithuanian
1 entries- gvazdikas noun (plant)
Macedonian
2 entries- каранфил noun (plant)
- каранфил noun (flower)
Malay
1 entries- bunga teluki noun (flower)
Maltese
1 entries- qronfol noun (plant)
Mòcheno
1 entries- nagel noun (flower)
Māori
2 entries- kanehana noun (flower)
- kāneihana noun (flower)
Nogai
1 entries- калемпир noun (flower)
Norwegian Bokmål
2 entries- nellik noun (plant)
- nellik noun (flower)
Norwegian Nynorsk
2 entries- nellik noun (plant)
- nellik noun (flower)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- قرنفل noun (plant)
Pannonian Rusyn
1 entries- гвоздзик noun (flower)
Persian
1 entries- میخک noun (flower)
Polish
2 entries- goździk noun (plant)
- goździk noun (flower)
Portuguese
2 entries- cravo noun (plant)
- cravo noun (flower)
Romanian
2 entries- garoafă noun (plant)
- garoafă noun (flower)
Russian
2 entries- гвозди́ка noun (plant)
- гвозди́ка noun (flower)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- karanfil noun (plant)
- karanfil noun (flower)
- каранфил noun (plant)
- каранфил noun (flower)
Slovak
1 entries- hrebíček noun (flower)
Spanish
2 entries- clavel noun (plant)
- clavel noun (flower)
Swedish
1 entries- nejlika noun (flower)
Tagalog
2 entries- klabel noun (plant)
- klabel noun (flower)
Thai
1 entries- คาร์เนชั่น noun (flower)
Turkish
2 entries- karanfil noun (plant)
- karanfil noun (flower)
Ukrainian
1 entries- гвоздика noun (plant)
Venetan
1 entries- garòfoło noun (flower)
Vietnamese
2 entries- cẩm chướng noun (plant)
- cẩm chướng noun (flower)
Volapük
4 entries- diant noun (plant)
- kariof noun (plant)
- kariofaflor noun (flower)
- plümadiant noun (plant)
Yiddish
4 entries- גוואָזדיקע noun (plant)
- גוואָזדיקע noun (flower)
- נעגעלע noun (plant)
- נעגעלע noun (flower)
Sample sentences
9 total sentences available.
One would have taken her for a little angel, she was so beautiful; for her swooning had not dimmed the brightness of her complexion: her cheeks were carnation, and her lips coral.
Source: tatoeba (6211737)
This is a carnation.
Source: tatoeba (6357408)
He pinned a carnation to his jacket.
Source: tatoeba (6888312)
Showing 4 of 9 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "carnation"?
Closest matches include bloom, blossom, cardinal, carmine, cerise.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "carnation"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.