pansy
/ˈpæn.zi/
pansy noun: a cultivated flowering plant, derived by hybridization within species Viola tricolor.
Noun
pansy (plural pansies)
- A cultivated flowering plant, derived by hybridization within species Viola tricolor.
- The Daughters of the Flood have ſearch'd the Mead / For Violets pale, and cropt the Poppy's Head: / The Short Narciſſus and fair Daffodil, / Pancies to pleaſe the Sight, and Caſſia ſvveet to ſmell: […]1697, Virgil, “The Second Pastoral. Or, Alexis.”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 6
- Oh, what a perfect thought. Lilies-of-the-valley, and white pansies, double white violets and white velvet ribbon… From an unknown friend. … From one who understands. … For a Little Girl.1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Revelations”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 271
- A deep purple colour, like that of the pansy.
- Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Junonia.
- Synonyms:
- argus
- A timid, weak man or boy; a wuss.
- Synonyms:
- big girl's blouse, candy-arse, candy-ass, crybaby, milksop, milquetoast, namby, namby-pamby, nestle-cock, pantywaist
- A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.
Adjective
pansy (not comparable)
Verb
pansy (third-person singular simple present pansies, present participle pansying, simple past and past participle pansied)
- To mess about; to fail to get things done.
Proper noun capitalized: Pansy
Pansy
- A female given name.
pansy meaning in Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi and Persian
pansy in Hindi
- plant
- बनफशा banaphśā
- colour
- बनफ्शई banaphśaī
pansy in Malayalam
- പെണ്ണത്തമുള്ളവൻ, പെണ്ണാണൻ, പ്രകൃതിവിരുദ്ധക്കാരൻ
pansy in Punjabi
- plant
- ਪੈਂਜ਼ੀ paĩzī
pansy in Persian
- plant
- بنفشه سهرنگ
Examples of pansy in a sentence
- Though there's nothing common about the pansy.' Fanny commanded a room when she talked about her plants.
- In fact, the wild pansy was valued in ancient times for its potency in love charms.
- It is close to, and often crosses with, the wild pansy, V. tricolor.
Synonyms of pansy
- argus
- big girl's blouse
- candy-arse
- candy-ass
- crybaby
- milksop
- milquetoast
- namby
- namby-pamby
- nestle-cock
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of pansy
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | pansies |
| alternative form | pancy |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | pansies |
| present participle | pansying |
| past participle | pansied |
| past | pansied |
Origin of pansy
From Middle French pensée (“thought”), as the plant resembles someone that is in deep thought, with a lowered head. Doublet of pensée.
From pansy (“type of flower”).
Words formed from pansy
Phrases with pansy
Questions about pansy
- What does pansy mean?
- Pansy means a cultivated flowering plant, derived by hybridization within species Viola tricolor.
- What is pansy in Hindi?
- Pansy in Hindi is बनफशा (banaphśā), बनफ्शई (banaphśaī). See Pansy meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is pansy?
- Pansy can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce pansy?
- Pansy is pronounced /ˈpæn.zi/.
- What is the plural of pansy?
- The plural of pansy is pansies.
Words near pansy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pansy (page history and authors); Pansy (page history and authors); pansy (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-pansy.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pansy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pansy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.