Phrase guide

purple prose

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Extravagant or flowery writing, especially in a literary work.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Derived from a reference by the Roman poet Horace.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 華麗辭藻 /华丽辞藻 (huálì cízǎo) — extravagant or flowery writing
  • Dutch: bloemrijke taal — extravagant or flowery writing
  • Finnish: kukkaiskieli — extravagant or flowery writing
  • French: langage fleuri — extravagant or flowery writing
  • German: blumige Sprache — extravagant or flowery writing
  • Polish: kwiecista proza — extravagant or flowery writing
  • Portuguese: verborragismo — extravagant or flowery writing