florid
adjective
flor·id ˈflȯr-əd 
ˈflär-
1
a
: very flowery in style : ornate
florid prose
florid declamations
also : having a florid style
a florid writer
b
: elaborately decorated
a florid interior
c
obsolete : covered with flowers
2
a
: tinged with red : ruddy
a florid complexion
b
: marked by emotional or sexual fervor
a florid secret life
a florid sensibility
3
: fully developed : manifesting a complete and typical clinical syndrome
the florid stage of a disease
4
archaic : healthy
floridity
flə-ˈri-də-tē
noun flȯ-
floridly
ˈflȯr-əd-lē
adverb ˈflär-
floridness
ˈflȯr-əd-nəs
noun ˈflär-
Did you know?
When it first entered English "florid" was used with the literal meaning "covered with flowers." That use, though now obsolete, hints at the word's history. English speakers borrowed "florid" from the Latin adjective floridus ("blooming" or "flowery"), itself from the verb "florēre" ("to bloom"). "Florēre," which in turn comes from a Latin root meaning "flower," is also an ancestor of the words "flourish" and "florescence" ("a state or period of flourishing"). These days, "florid" can refer to an overblown style in speech, writing, or decoration. As such, its synonyms include "ornate," "rococo," and "overwrought."
Synonyms
- bedizened
- fussy
- gingerbread
- gingerbreaded
- gingerbready
- ornate
- overdecorated
- overwrought
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a florid, gilded mirror that took up most of the wall gave a florid speech in honor of the queen's visit
Recent Examples on the Web The drug industry's attacks on regulation have a rich and florid history. 
Arthur Allen, CNN, 12 Aug. 2022 This is a delight, full of florid language, slow-building tension, groan-inducing puns, loads of food descriptions, and a fun and fleshed-out supporting cast. Mary Cadden, USA TODAY, 7 June 2022 Witness the self-consciously florid dialogue, sometimes poetically heightened to the point of torture. Justin Changfilm Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2022 His florid documentary eavesdrops on fragmented dialogues: between father and son, among friends and neighbors, between land and river and, of course, between the past and the present. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2022 While the blithely unworried are hindered by too little imagination, the florid fantasies of QAnon show that some Americans are beset by too much of the same. Jennifer Szalai, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2022 And there’s no sign of a florid inscription that was supposedly carved into the box’s side. Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2021 Long or short, soft or loud, florid or dry, funny or serious — each prison column lands with a thud. Kyle Whitmire, al, 27 Sep. 2021 Messiaen provided florid descriptions of the movements, and in this one the reed warbler is the great orator of his local lily pond. Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021 See More
Arthur Allen, CNN, 12 Aug. 2022 This is a delight, full of florid language, slow-building tension, groan-inducing puns, loads of food descriptions, and a fun and fleshed-out supporting cast. Mary Cadden, USA TODAY, 7 June 2022 Witness the self-consciously florid dialogue, sometimes poetically heightened to the point of torture. Justin Changfilm Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2022 His florid documentary eavesdrops on fragmented dialogues: between father and son, among friends and neighbors, between land and river and, of course, between the past and the present. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2022 While the blithely unworried are hindered by too little imagination, the florid fantasies of QAnon show that some Americans are beset by too much of the same. Jennifer Szalai, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2022 And there’s no sign of a florid inscription that was supposedly carved into the box’s side. Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2021 Long or short, soft or loud, florid or dry, funny or serious — each prison column lands with a thud. Kyle Whitmire, al, 27 Sep. 2021 Messiaen provided florid descriptions of the movements, and in this one the reed warbler is the great orator of his local lily pond. Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Latin flōridus "abounding in flowers, brightly colored, in the bloom of youth, highly colored (of rhetoric)," adjective derivative, with the suffix -idus, corresponding to flōrēre "to bloom" — more at florescence
First Known Use
1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1c
Kids Definition
florid
adjective
flor·id ˈflȯr-əd
1
: very fancy or flowery in style
florid writing
2
: having a reddish color
a florid face
Medical Definition
florid
adjective
flor·id ˈflȯr-əd, ˈflär-
: fully developed : manifesting a complete and typical clinical syndrome
florid hyperplasia
florid
adjective
1
as in ornate
elaborately and often excessively decorated a florid, gilded mirror that took up most of the wall Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- ornate
- baroque
- overwrought
- extravagant
- adorned
- decorated
- ornamented
- gilt
- loud
- bedizened
- overdecorated
- gilded
- rococo
- gingerbread
- lacy
- showy
- gaudy
- garish
- flamboyant
- dressed
- elaborate
- tawdry
- gingerbready
- fussy
- ostentatious
- spectacular
- flowery
- pretentious
- swank
- flashy
- glitzy
- gingerbreaded
- arabesque
- frilly
- enriched
- embroidered
- trimmed
- extreme
- splashy
- embellished
- bedaubed
- bedecked
- swanky
- laced
- heightened
- decked
- wreathed
- arrayed
- enhanced
- bejeweled
- fringed
- intensified
- garnished
- garlanded
- bejewelled
- beautified
- sequined
- emblazoned
- flounced
- embossed
- chased
- sequinned
- bossed
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- severe
- austere
- plain
- unadorned
- stark
- naked
- modest
- bare
- simple
- exposed
- stripped
- unpretentious
- denuded
- unassuming
- understated
- restrained
- uncovered
- tasteful
- conservative
- subdued
- muted
- unobtrusive
- quiet
- toned-down
2
as in rhetoric
full of fine words and fancy expressions gave a florid speech in honor of the queen's visit Synonyms & Similar Words
- rhetoric
- ornate
- rhetorical
- purple
- flowery
- grandiloquent
- eloquent
- aureate
- hifalutin
- high-flown
- highfalutin
- high-sounding
- boastful
- excessive
- grandiose
- bombastic
- pretentious
- inflated
- fulsome
- bloated
- pompous
- stilted
- affected
- magnific
- flattering
- fancy-pants
- bookish
- inkhorn
- lofty
- learned
- elevated
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- prosaic
- unpoetic
- plain
- unadorned
- simple
- stark
- direct
- straightforward
- spare
- bald
- lean
- plainspoken
- unpretentious
- unaffected
- natural
- matter-of-fact
3
as in glowing
having a healthy reddish skin tone a man with a florid complexion Synonyms & Similar Words
- glowing
- ruddy
- rubicund
- red
- tanned
- rosy
- sanguine
- warm
- blooming
- flush
- blowsy
- blushing
- brown
- pink
- full-blooded
- flushed
- blowzy
- bronzed
- pinkish
- suntanned
- bloomy
- cherubic
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- lurid
- pallid
- pale
- ashen
- sallow
- palish
- pasty
- doughy
- mealy
- wan
- livid
- peaky
- white
- waxen
- waxy
- ashy
- peaked
- sickly
- blanched
- paled
- anemic
- whitened
- sallowish
- sick
- bloodless
- cadaverous
- whey-faced
- white-faced