anemone
Computer-generated voice, not a recording. It may differ from the pronunciation guide.
The four-syllable guide follows the pronunciation shown by Merriam-Webster, with stress on the second syllable.
In short
An anemone is a flowering plant, also called a windflower. In marine contexts, anemone can also mean a sea anemone, a flowerlike animal rather than a plant.
What does anemone mean?
Is an anemone a plant or an animal?
The word can refer to either. A garden anemone is a flowering plant, also known as a windflower. A sea anemone is an animal whose appearance resembles a flower.
The surrounding words usually settle the meaning. A bouquet of anemones concerns flowers; anemones in a tide pool may be marine animals. A sea anemone is an animal, like a walrus, but it is not a mammal; its flowerlike form is what makes the name misleading.
How do you say anemone?
A useful guide is uh-NEM-uh-nee: four syllables, with the stress on the second. The ordinary English plural is anemones.
Why is it associated with wind?
Traditional explanations connect the plant’s Greek name with a word for wind. Historical accounts of why that association arose should not be read as a rule that every anemone opens only when wind blows.
The precise naming history is not completely settled, so a brief, qualified explanation is more reliable than a single confident legend.
Where does it come from?
The plant name came through Latin from Greek anemone. It is traditionally associated with a Greek word for wind, but accounts of its precise origin differ. The later marine use names a flowerlike animal; the word history does not make the animal a plant.
How to use it in a sentence
“The florist added white anemones to the bouquet.”
“We saw a sea anemone attached to a rock in the tide pool.”
Sources and updates
- Anemone Definition & Meaning, Merriam-Webster. Checked November 5, 2026.
- Sea Anemone Definition & Meaning, Merriam-Webster. Checked November 5, 2026.
- Anemone - Etymology, Origin & Meaning, Online Etymology Dictionary. Checked November 5, 2026.
Definitions and examples are written in our own words from the sources above. Published .