vanilla
noun
Simple meaning
Standard, plain, default, unmodified.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vuhniluhSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
vəˈnɪlə
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
uncountable
The extract of the fruit of the vanilla plant.
countable
The fruit or bean of the vanilla plant.
uncountable
The distinctive fragrant flavour/flavor characteristic of vanilla extract.
A flavoring prepared from vanilla beans macerated in alcohol (or imitating vanilla beans)
uncountable
Any artificially produced homologue of vanilla extract, principally vanillin produced from lignin from the paper industry or from petrochemicals.
A yellowish-white colour, like that of vanilla ice cream.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.
More ways to use vanilla
- “I always choose vanilla ice cream; it is my favorite flavor.”
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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.
Long bean-like fruit.
A flavoring prepared from vanilla beans macerated in alcohol (or imitating vanilla beans).
Ice cream flavored with vanilla extract.
A climbing orchid bearing a podlike fruit yielding vanilla beans.
A climbing orchid bearing a podlike fruit yielding vanilla beans.
Sweet vanilla flavored custard-like pudding usually thickened with flour rather than eggs.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- strawberrynoun
- raspberrynoun
- orchidnoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: extract of the fruit of the vanilla plant
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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.