Meaning & use
cruciferous
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalbiology
Belonging to a family of plants with four-petaled flowers, including cabbage, broccoli, kale, and mustard.
Grammar: Used before a noun: cruciferous vegetables. It is not usually used after a verb like 'be'.
Patterns
- cruciferous vegetables
- cruciferous crops
- a cruciferous plant
Nutritionists often recommend eating more cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage.
Farmers in the region grow cruciferous crops like mustard and radish.
Kale is a cruciferous plant that grows well in cool weather.
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalbiology
Relating to plants that carry their seeds in small cross-shaped pods.
Grammar: A specialist use in botany, again placed before a noun: cruciferous fruits.
Patterns
- cruciferous fruits
- cruciferous family
The botanist pointed out the cruciferous fruits growing along the stem.
Mustard belongs to the cruciferous family of flowering plants.
Common combinations
- cruciferous vegetables
- She tries to include cruciferous vegetables in every dinner.
- cruciferous crops
- Cruciferous crops can suffer damage from certain caterpillars.
- the cruciferous family
- Cabbage and turnip both belong to the cruciferous family.
- a cruciferous plant
- Arugula is a fast-growing cruciferous plant.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cabbage-like
- A loose everyday description rather than a scientific term; use it only in casual speech, not in biology writing.
Word family
- crucifer noun
- A plant of this family, or the cross-shaped flower part itself.
Commonly confused: cruciferous or crucifix?
cruciferous vs crucifix
A crucifix is a cross with a figure of Jesus on it; cruciferous is only about a group of plants.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cruciferous' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Cruciferous' describes a plant family that includes broccoli and cabbage. Option 2 confuses it with 'crucifix', a cross; the other options use the word with meanings it does not have.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cruciferous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.