Meaning & use
violet
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A color between blue and purple, found at the end of the rainbow opposite red.
Grammar: Uncountable for the color in general: deep violet; countable when naming shades: soft violets.
Patterns
- in violet
The sky faded from orange to a deep violet after sunset.
She painted the bedroom wall in soft violet.
Violet is the shortest visible wavelength in the rainbow.
adjectivenot comparable
Having a color between blue and purple.
Grammar: Comes before a noun or after a linking verb: violet eyes, the dress was violet.
The actress had striking violet eyes.
He wore a violet scarf to the winter fair.
Violet clouds drifted over the harbor at dusk.
nouncountable
A low-growing garden plant with small, sweet-scented flowers, most often violet-blue, that blooms in spring.
Grammar: A regular countable noun, often in the plural: violets bloom in spring.
Wild violets covered the edge of the woods in April.
She pressed a violet between the pages of her diary.
The garden path was lined with violets and primroses.
Word forms
| plural | violets |
|---|
Common combinations
- deep violet
- The curtains were a deep violet that glowed in the evening light.
- pale violet
- Pale violet flowers filled the window box.
- violet eyes
- The kitten had violet eyes that surprised everyone.
- African violet
- An African violet on the windowsill bloomed all winter.
- a shrinking violet
- He is no shrinking violet; he speaks up at every meeting.
- wild violets
- Wild violets grow along the stream bank.
Synonyms and how they differ
- purple
- Purple is the broad everyday term and may lean toward red, while violet is bluer and is the standard name for the color in the rainbow.
- lilac
- Lilac is a pale, slightly pinkish purple, so it is lighter and softer than most violets.
- mauve
- Mauve is a pale, slightly grayish purple, usually duller and more muted than violet.
- indigo
- Indigo is a very dark blue with a hint of violet, so it sits next to violet in the rainbow but is deeper and bluer.
Word family
- ultraviolet adjective
- describing light beyond violet, invisible to the human eye
- violaceous adjective
- violet-colored (technical, especially in medicine and botany)
- violets noun
- plural, usually the flowers
Commonly confused: violet or violent?
violet vs violent
Violent means using or involving force that can hurt, and it is spelled with a n and a t. Violet, ending in et, is the color and the flower.
Practice
Which word names a small spring flower that is often blue-purple?
Choose one answer.
Violet is both the flower and its color. Violent means forceful, a violin is a musical instrument, and a violation is a breaking of a rule.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “violet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.