Home › Words › B › bougainvilleabougainvillea/ˌbuː.ɡənˈvɪl.ɪ.ə/bougainvillea means any of several South American flowering shrubs or lianas, of the genus Bougainvillea, having three showy, colorful bracts attached below each group of three inconspicuous flowers.bougainvillea is pronounced /ˌbuː.ɡənˈvɪl.ɪ.ə/.EtymologyFrom taxonomic name Bougainvillea, from French Bougainville + -a. Named after French admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811).nounAny of several South American flowering shrubs or lianas, of the genus Bougainvillea, having three showy, colorful bracts attached below each group of three inconspicuous flowers.e.g.“He arrives bearing flowers as though he's come to court me. Tonight he brings me bougainvillea. It is always a surprise.” — 1991, Edwidge Danticat, Krik? Krak!, New York: Soho Press Inc., →ISBN, page 87 of 83-88:Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.bouvardia 61% match — Any plant of the genus Bouvardia. vs bougainvillea →bougainvillean 60% match — A native or inhabitant of Bougainville. vs bougainvillea →bignonia 57% match — Any member of the genus Bignonia of flowering plants in the catalpa family. vs bougainvillea →bauhinia 57% match — Any of flowering plants of the Bauhinia genus, some of which are known as orchid trees. vs bougainvillea →browallia 57% match — Any of the flowering plants of the genus Browallia. vs bougainvillea →briar 56% match — Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera. vs bougainvillea →brugmansia 56% match — A flowering plant of the genus Brugmansia, native to subtropical regions of South America. vs bougainvillea →escallonia 56% match — Any of several South American flowering plants of the genus Escallonia vs bougainvillea →