flowery

• flow'ry (obsolete)

From Middle English floury, equivalent to flower +‎ -y. Piecewise doublet of floury.

• IPA^(key): /ˈflaʊəɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

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

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

1. (not comparable) Pertaining to flowers.
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.

• fowlery, rye wolf