Meaning & use
praline
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountableAmerican
A sweet made by cooking nuts, usually pecans or almonds, in sugar, often with butter or cream, until it forms a soft or crunchy candy.
Grammar: Countable for each sweet: a praline; uncountable as an ingredient: praline sauce.
Patterns
- a praline made with something
- pecan praline
She bought a box of pecan pralines in New Orleans.
The ice cream has swirls of caramel and praline.
He crushed the praline and sprinkled it on the cake.
nouncountableBritish
A chocolate with a soft filling, especially one of the filled chocolates made in Belgium.
Grammar: Countable: a box of pralines.
Patterns
- Belgian pralines
- a box of pralines
We brought a box of Belgian pralines for our hosts.
Each praline in the assortment has a different filling.
The shop sells hazelnut pralines wrapped in gold foil.
Word forms
| plural | pralines |
|---|
Common combinations
- pecan praline
- A pecan praline is a classic treat in the American South.
- Belgian praline
- The Belgian praline had a creamy hazelnut centre.
- praline filling
- The cake has a rich praline filling.
- praline ice cream
- Praline ice cream is my favourite flavour.
- box of pralines
- He gave her a box of pralines.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bonbon
- Bonbon is a general word for a small sweet, while praline names a specific nut-based or filled chocolate sweet.
- truffle
- Truffle suggests a soft chocolate ganache center, whereas a praline centre is based on nuts.
- candy
- Candy is a general American term for sweets of all kinds, so praline is much more specific.
Word family
Commonly confused: praline or parfait?
praline vs parfait
A parfait is a layered cold dessert, while a praline is a nut-based sweet or a filled chocolate.
Practice
In the American South, a traditional praline is usually made from sugar, cream and ____.
Choose one answer.
Traditional American pralines use pecans cooked in sugar and cream. The other options are foods with the same first letter but are not the classic ingredient.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “praline”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.