thistledown

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The soft, silky fluff attached to thistle seeds, which lets them drift on the wind.

   Grammar: No plural and no a/an: a drift of thistledown.

   Patterns

   • a drift of thistledown
   • thistledown floats

   Thistledown drifted across the meadow in the late summer breeze.

   The goldfinches pulled the thistledown apart to reach the seeds.

   She blew gently and the thistledown floated off her palm.

2. 2noununcountablefigurativeliterary

   Used figuratively for anything extremely light, delicate or easily blown away.

   Grammar: Mostly in comparisons: light as thistledown.

   Patterns

   • as light as thistledown
   • like thistledown

   Her voice was as light as thistledown.

   The baby's hair felt like thistledown against my cheek.

   Hopes of an early peace drifted away like thistledown.

Common combinations

light as thistledown

The blanket felt light as thistledown.

drift like thistledown

Her worries seemed to drift like thistledown.

a puff of thistledown

A puff of thistledown rose from the verge.

thistledown on the wind

Thistledown on the wind meant summer was ending.

Synonyms and how they differ

fluff

Fluff is a general everyday word for any soft light material, whereas thistledown is specific to thistles and poetic.

down

Down usually means a bird's soft feathers, so it does not suggest plant seeds.

gossamer

Gossamer suggests fine spider silk and sheer fabric rather than seed fluff.

Word family

thistle noun

a prickly plant with purple flowers

downy adjective

covered with soft fine hair

thistly adjective

full of thistles or prickly like them

Commonly confused: thistledown or eiderdown?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “thistledown”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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