Meaning & use
garland
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Meanings
nouncountable
A ring or long chain of flowers, leaves or other items, worn on the head or neck, or hung up as decoration.
Grammar: Has a plural: garlands of flowers.
Patterns
- a garland of something
The dancers wore garlands of marigolds around their necks.
A garland of pine and ribbons hung over the doorway.
She placed a garland on the table as a centerpiece.
nouncountableliteraryfigurative
A prize or honor, traditionally a wreath given to a winner.
Grammar: Used mostly in a literary or figurative way: win the garland.
Patterns
- win the garland
The young poet won the garland in the village competition.
Victory meant a garland, though nobody actually wore one.
verbtransitive
To decorate someone or something with a wreath or chain of flowers or leaves.
Grammar: Takes an object and usually with: garland the hall with lights.
Patterns
- garland someone with something
- garland something with something
They garlanded the stage with fresh roses.
The guests were garlanded as they arrived at the temple.
He garlanded the staircase with ivy.
Word forms
| plural | garlands |
|---|---|
| third person singular | garlands |
| past tense | garlanded |
| past participle | garlanded |
| -ing form | garlanding |
Common combinations
- a garland of flowers
- She wore a garland of flowers in her hair.
- hang a garland
- We hung a garland above the fireplace.
- a flower garland
- A flower garland welcomed the visitors.
- a festive garland
- A festive garland of lights ran along the roof.
- garlanded with
- The altar was garlanded with lilies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wreath
- A wreath is normally a closed ring, while a garland can be a ring or a long hanging chain.
- festoon
- A festoon is a hanging curve of decoration, and as a verb it suggests covering something heavily.
- lei
- A lei is specifically a Hawaiian flower necklace, while garland is a general English word.
- decoration
- Decoration can be anything that adorns a place, so garland is much more specific.
Word family
- garlanded adjective
- decorated with a garland
- garlanding noun
- the act of putting on garlands
- ungarlanded adjective
- without a garland
Commonly confused: garland or garland (name)? garland or garlic?
garland vs garland (name)
Garland is also a surname and a town name, so context tells you whether the decoration is meant.
garland vs garlic
Garlic is a strong-smelling bulb used in cooking, and a string of it can hang like a garland, but the two words are not connected.
Practice
The guests were ___ with flowers as they entered the wedding hall.
Choose one answer.
To garland someone is to decorate them with flowers. Garnished is used for food, and gargled and gathered do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “garland”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.