tendril
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A thin, spirally coiling stem that attaches a plant to its support.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tehndrilSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɛndɹɪl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
botany
A thin, spirally coiling stem that attaches a plant to its support.
by extension
Anything shaped like a tendril or coil.
zoology
A hair-like tentacle.
adjective
Having the shape or properties of a tendril; thin and coiling; entwining.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A thin, spirally coiling stem that attaches a plant to its support.
Used this way, tendril is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Of or relating to plants that climb by means of tendrils.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.