verdant

adjective

ver·​dant ˈvər-dᵊnt 

1

a

: green in tint or color

b

: green with growing plants

verdant fields

2

: unripe in experience or judgment : green sense 5a

verdancy

ˈvər-dᵊn(t)-sē 

noun

verdantly

ˈvər-dᵊnt-lē 

adverb

Did you know?

English speakers have been using verdant as a ripe synonym of green since at least the 16th century, and as a descriptive term for inexperienced or naïve people since the 19th century. (By contrast, the more experienced green has colored our language since well before the 12th century, and was first applied to inexperienced people in the 16th century.) Verdant comes from the Old French word for "green," vert, which itself is from Latin virēre, meaning "to show green growth" or "to be green." Today, vert is used in English as a word for green forest vegetation and the heraldic color green. A related word is virescent, meaning "beginning to be green."

Synonyms

• green
• grown
• leafy
• lush
• luxuriant
• overgrown

Examples of verdant in a Sentence

a beautiful, verdant field

Recent Examples on the Web

The Hamptons extravaganza was held at a verdant equestrian estate on the eve of New York Fashion Week, and brought out former First Lady Jill Biden, Audra Day, Usher, Laura Dern, Rufus Wainwright, Colman Domingo, Cole Sprouse and more. —Booth Moore, WWD, 5 Mar. 2025

Its cooler climate allows for cultivating tea, and visitors can explore Doi Mae Salon’s plantations and enjoy tea tastings (especially oolong varieties) accompanied by verdant mountain views. —Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 2 Mar. 2025

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is one of Georgia's most lush and verdant gems that stretches for 867,000 mountainous and wooded acres. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 23 Feb. 2025

Our guests stepped off their planes and onto a verdant island that seemed to appear from nowhere, fully formed, exclusively for them. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

contracted from Middle French verdoyant, from present participle of verdoyer "to be green, turn green," going back to Old French verdoier, from verd, vert "green" (going back to Latin viridis, from a base *wir-, whence virēre "to show green growth, be green" of uncertain origin) + -oier, factitive verb suffix, going back to Latin -idiāre, originally representing variant pronunciation (or spelling variant) of -izāre -ize

Note: Latin viridis and virēre have been linked to Lithuanian visti "to multiply, breed," veisti "to breed, rear," as well as to Old English wīse "sprout, stalk," Old High German wisa "meadow," though the semantic connections are vague enough to make this a very tenuous hypothesis.

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

verdant

adjective

ver·​dant ˈvərd-ᵊnt 

: green with growing plants

verdant fields

verdantly adverb