Meanings
plural oleanders
- countableuncountableNerium oleander, a notoriously poisonous shrub in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, but nonetheless widely grown as an ornamental, having leathery lance-shaped leaves and deep rose-colored or white flowers.
"Cut a small branch of oleander from a thrifty plant, place it in a vial partly filled with rain water, so that the lower end of the branch may be immersed about half an inch in the water.
1847, editorial staff, “Experiment With a Plant”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 10, page 80Synonyms: laurel rose, rose laurel, rosebay
Synonyms & antonyms
nounNerium oleander, a notoriously poisonous shrub in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, but nonetheless widely grown as an ornamental, having leathery lance-shaped leaves and deep rose-colored or white flowers.
More synonyms by meaning
nounan ornamental but poisonous flowering shrub having narrow evergreen leaves and clusters of fragrant white to pink or red flowers: native to East Indies but widely cultivated in warm regions
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Late Latinlorandrum
- Medieval Latinoleandru
- Frencholéandre
- Englisholeander
From French oléandre, from Medieval Latin oleandru, from Late Latin lorandrum, perhaps an alteration of rhododendron.
More words from French, Medieval Latin, Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek νήριον
- νήριον (nḗrion)A poisonous shrub
Arabic دِفْلَى
- دِفْلَى (diflā)A poisonous shrub
Basque heriotzorri
- heriotzorriA poisonous shrub
Bengali করবী, করবীর
- করবী (korobi)A poisonous shrub
- করবীর (korobir)A poisonous shrub
Bulgarian олеандър, зокум
- олеандър (oleandăr)A poisonous shrub
- зокум (zokum)A poisonous shrub
Catalan baladre
- baladreA poisonous shrub
Chinese Mandarin 夾竹桃 /夹竹桃
- 夾竹桃 /夹竹桃 (jiāzhútáo)A poisonous shrub
Czech oleandr
- oleandrA poisonous shrub
Esperanto oleandro
- oleandroA poisonous shrub
Finnish oleanteri, oleanteripuu
- oleanteriA poisonous shrub
- oleanteripuuA poisonous shrub
French laurier-rose, oléandre
- laurier-roseA poisonous shrub
- oléandreA poisonous shrub
German Oleander
- OleanderA poisonous shrub
Greek πικροδάφνη, ροδοδάφνη
- πικροδάφνη (pikrodáfni)A poisonous shrub
- ροδοδάφνη (rododáfni)A poisonous shrub
Hebrew הַרְדּוּף
- הַרְדּוּף (hardúf)A poisonous shrub
Hindi कनेर
- कनेर (kaner)A poisonous shrub
Hungarian leander, babérrózsa
- leanderA poisonous shrub
- babérrózsaA poisonous shrub
Irish oiliandar
- oiliandarA poisonous shrub
Italian oleandro
- oleandroA poisonous shrub
Japanese 夾竹桃
- 夾竹桃 (kyōchikutō)A poisonous shrub
Korean 협죽도
- 협죽도 (hyeopjukdo)A poisonous shrub
Latin nerium
- neriumA poisonous shrub
Polish oleander
- oleanderA poisonous shrub
Portuguese oleandro, espirradeira
- oleandroA poisonous shrub
- espirradeiraA poisonous shrub
- loendroA poisonous shrub
- alandroA poisonous shrub
Romanian leandru, oleandru
- leandruA poisonous shrub
- oleandruA poisonous shrub
Russian олеа́ндр
- олеа́ндр (oleándr)A poisonous shrub
Slovak oleander
- oleanderA poisonous shrub
Spanish adelfa
- adelfaA poisonous shrub
Tagalog adelpa, baladre
- adelpaA poisonous shrub
- baladreA poisonous shrub
Tamil அரளி
- அரளி (araḷi)A poisonous shrub
Thai ยี่โถ
- ยี่โถ (yîi-tǒo)A poisonous shrub
Turkish zakkum, ağı ağacı
- zakkumA poisonous shrub
- ağı ağacıA poisonous shrub
Vietnamese trúc đào
- trúc đàoA poisonous shrub
Welsh rhoswydden, rhoslawryf
- rhoswyddenA poisonous shrub
- rhoslawryfA poisonous shrub
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with oleander
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
oleander. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oleander
“oleander.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oleander. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oleander,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oleander.
Source: oleander on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.