wallflower

wallflower Definition

wall·flower (-flo̵u′ər)

noun

any of a number of perennial or annual garden plants (genera Cheiranthus and Erysimum) of the crucifer family, having racemes of cross-shaped flowers, usually yellow or orange; esp., a common perennial (C. cheiri) having racemes of fragrant, colorful flowers
Informal a person, esp. a girl, who merely looks on at a dance, etc., sometimes from shyness but usually from not having been chosen as a partner

wallflower Usage Examples

Preposition: at

dance: Our health is too vitally important for us to wait silently like wallflowers at the dance until our doctors take the first step forward.

Adjective modifier

shy: I could not be the shy, meek wallflower anymore.
perennial: In early spring they turn yellow as the native perennial Wallflowers come into bloom.
lonely: Hitch was once a lonely wallflower himself, who learned about love and heartbreak the hard way.

Noun used with modifier

plant: Consign spent annual bedding plants to the compost heap and plant wallflowers, forget-me-nots and other spring flowerers in their place.

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