carnation

noun

car·​na·​tion kär-ˈnā-shən 

1

: a plant of any of numerous often cultivated and usually double-flowered varieties or subspecies of an Old World pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) found in many color variations

2

: a moderate red

3

archaic : the variable color of human flesh

Examples of carnation in a Sentence

The groom wore a carnation in his buttonhole.

Recent Examples on the Web

Volunteers for the march handed out carnations and small sheets of paper to write messages of love and hope to trans and nonbinary people in Idaho. —Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 18 June 2025

The garden will replace delphiniums and carnations on display in the conservatory in late spring with begonias and zinnias in the summer, and chrysanthemums and asters in the fall. —Jane L. Levere, New York Times, 20 May 2025

Covering 79 acres, the garden also features roses, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, lilies, carnations, and irises. —Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2025

We were greeted with offal-and-corn soup and presented with necklaces threaded with carnations, roses, toffee, lollipops, and circular knots of bread, a sort of Peruvian bagel. —Sam Kean, The Atlantic, 26 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, from Old Italian carnagione, from carne flesh, from Latin carn-, caro

First Known Use

circa 1535, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for carnation

• ablation
• bination
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation
• conflation

Kids Definition

carnation

noun

car·​na·​tion kär-ˈnā-shən 

1

: a moderate red

2

: any of the numerous cultivated herbs of the genus of pinks with reddish, pink, yellow, or white usually double flowers