evergreen

E1V4E1R1G2R1E1E1N1
UK/ˈɛvəɡɹiːn/Canada, US/ˈɛvɚɡɹin/Australia, New Zealand/ˈevəɡɹiːn/

adjective

Of plants, especially trees, that do not shed their leaves seasonally.

“Near-synonym: nondeciduous”

CommonScrabble 13

Meanings

evergreen1

adjectiveevergreen (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf plants, especially trees, that do not shed their leaves seasonally.

    Near-synonym: nondeciduous

    1 more example

    ...these three little creeping vines put forth their hands with joy, and spread over rock and hillock and twisted tree-root and mouldering log, in cloaks and scarves and wreaths of tiny evergreen, glossy leaves.

    1902, Henry Van Dyke, The Blue Flower

    Synonyms: sempervirent, still-green, nondeciduous · Antonyms: deciduous, summergreen

  2. Continually fresh or self-renewing.
    1. figurativelynot comparableoftencontractsBeing a clause which causes an automatic renewal of a contract unless action is taken.
    2. figurativelynot comparableoftencomputingOf a document, a piece of software, or a data set: kept continually up to date (as opposed to being published at regular intervals and outdated in the meantime)

      Chrome and Firefox are evergreen browsers: they update automatically and version numbers are only used for internal reference.

      2014, Peter Gasston, Book of CSS3, 2nd Edition: A Developer's Guide to the Future of Web Design, No Starch Press, →ISBN, page 257
  3. not comparablebroadcastingSuitable for transmission at any time; not urgent or time-dependent.

    Another change in the news was emphasis on “evergreen” features involving attractive children or animals, parades or fireworks, as well as local developments.

    2001, Christopher H Sterling, John M Kittross, Stay Tuned, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, page 654

    Synonyms: timeless

nounevergreen (plural evergreens)

plural evergreens

  1. A shrub or tree that does not shed its leaves or needles seasonally.

    The lawn before them was gay with evergreens, relieved by the first few flowers and fresh turf of the reviving Spring; […]

    1838, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter I, in Alice or The Mysteries […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book I, page 3
    1 more example

    Husband and wife walked till they had reached the house they were in search of, which stood in a terrace facing the sea, and was fronted by a small garden of wind-proof and salt-proof evergreens, stone steps leading up to the porch.

    1912, Thomas Hardy, “An Imaginative Woman”, in Life’s Little Ironies […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC, page 5
  2. informalspecificallyA conifer tree.

    Deep down in Louisiana, close to New Orleans, / Way back up in the woods among the evergreens, / There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood / Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode

    1958 March 31, Chuck Berry, “Johnny B. Goode”, performed by Chuck Berry
    1 more example

    The spruce and fir trees crowded to the track on each side to welcome us, the arbor- vitae, with its changing leaves, prompted us to make haste, and the sight of the canoe-birch gave us spirits to do so. Sometimes an evergreen just fallen lay across the track with its rich burden of cones, looking, still, fuller of life than our trees in the most favorable positions.

    1858, Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods
  3. informalbroadcastingA news story that can be published or broadcast at any time.
verbevergreen (third-person singular simple present evergreens, present participle evergreening, simple past and past participle evergreened)

present singular third person evergreens · participle present evergreening · participle past evergreened · past evergreened

  1. intellectual propertyTo extend the term of a patent beyond the normal legal limit, usually through repeated small modifications.
  2. bankingTo set the repayment rate of a loan at or below the interest rate, so low that the principal will never be repaid.

Evergreen2

proper noun

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveOf plants, especially trees, that do not shed their leaves seasonally.

adjectiveSuitable for transmission at any time; not urgent or time-dependent.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

adjective(of plants and shrubs) bearing foliage throughout the year

Opposite

nouna plant having foliage that persists and remains green throughout the year

Similar
evergreen plant

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀειθαλής
  • ἀειθαλής (aeithalḗs)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
Bulgarian вечнозелен
  • вечнозелен (večnozelen)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
Catalan perennifoli
  • perennifoliof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Chinese Mandarin 常青, 常綠 /常绿
  • 常青 (chángqīng)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • 常綠 /常绿 (chánglǜ)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • 常青樹 /常青树 (chángqīngshù)tree or shrub
Czech stálezelený
  • stálezelenýof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Danish stedsegrøn
  • stedsegrønof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Dutch groenblijvend, wintergroen
  • groenblijvendof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • wintergroenof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • altijdgroenof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Esperanto ĉiamverda, ĉiamverdo
  • ĉiamverdaof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • ĉiamverdotree or shrub
Finnish ainavihanta, ikivihanta
  • ainavihantaof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • ikivihantaof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • ikivihreäof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • ikivihreätree or shrub
  • ainavihanta kasvitree or shrub
French sempervirent, arbre à feuillage persistant
  • sempervirentof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • arbre à feuillage persistanttree or shrub
  • arbre à feuilles persistantestree or shrub
German immergrün, immergrüne Pflanze
  • immergrünof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • immergrüne Pflanzetree or shrub
Greek αειθαλής
  • αειθαλής (aeithalís)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
Hebrew יְרֹק־עַד, ירוק עד
  • יְרֹק־עַדof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • ירוק עד (yarók ‘ad)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
Hindi सदाबहार
  • सदाबहार (sadābhār)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
Hungarian örökzöld
  • örökzöldof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Icelandic sígrænn, vetrargrænn
  • sígrænnof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • vetrargrænnof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Indonesian malar hijau
  • malar hijauof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Irish síorghlas, crann síorghlas
  • síorghlasof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • crann síorghlastree or shrub
Italian sempreverde
  • sempreverdeof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Japanese 常緑
  • 常緑 (jōryoku)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
Korean 상록의, 상록
  • 상록의 (sangnogui)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • 상록 (sangnok)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
Lithuanian visžalis
  • visžalisof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Māori māotaota, raumāota
  • māotaotaof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • raumāotaof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Norwegian Bokmål eviggrønn
  • eviggrønnof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Polish zimozielony
  • zimozielonyof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Portuguese sempre-verde, perenifólio
  • sempre-verdeof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • perenifólioof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • sempre-verdetree or shrub
Romanian sempervirescent, arbore sempervirescent
  • sempervirescentof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • arbore sempervirescenttree or shrub
  • arbust sempervirescenttree or shrub
Russian вечнозелёный, вечнозелёное расте́ние
  • вечнозелёный (večnozeljónyj)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • вечнозелёное расте́ние (večnozeljónoje rasténije)tree or shrub
Scottish Gaelic bith-bheò, sìor-bheò
  • bith-bheòof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • sìor-bheòof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • sìor-uaineof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • sìor-ghormof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • craobh shìor-ghormtree or shrub
Spanish perennifolio, de hoja perenne
  • perennifolioof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • de hoja perenneof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • siempreverdeof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Swedish städsegrön, vintergrön
  • städsegrönof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • vintergrönof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Turkish her dem yeşil, yaprak dökmeyen
  • her dem yeşilof plants, that do not shed their leaves
  • yaprak dökmeyenof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Ukrainian вічнозеле́ний
  • вічнозеле́ний (vičnozelényj)of plants, that do not shed their leaves
Vietnamese thường xanh
  • thường xanhof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Welsh bytholwyrdd
  • bytholwyrddof plants, that do not shed their leaves
Cite this entry
APA

evergreen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evergreen

MLA

“evergreen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evergreen. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “evergreen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evergreen.

Source: evergreen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.