noun

• 1An Old World plant with flat five-petalled, typically bluish flowers and glossy leaves. Some kinds are grown as ornamentals and some contain alkaloids used in medicine.

  Genera Vinca and Catharanthus, family Apocynaceae

  ‘At the base of a tree, for example, you might have better luck with wood chips or shade-loving ornamental plants like ivy, periwinkle, or pachysandra.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘You can even plant periwinkle, bugle and ground ivy in the gaps in your log or rock pile - this could make a fun project for an older child.’
  • ‘Like Mexican heather, periwinkles are tender.’
  • ‘I painted cream-colored ivy and periwinkle flowers on the Lincoln green wood.’
  • ‘I found periwinkles and primroses in full flower, bluebells, just coming along nicely thank you, grape hyacinths, and polyanthus.’
  • ‘The corolla of the normal periwinkle flower is salver-shaped and the stamens are located in the throat of the corolla tube.’
  • ‘We make our way carefully through the periwinkle, a little wild patch of lilies of the valley, and some vicious canes of blackberry.’
  • ‘We crept close to a house, knelt into monkey grass or button weed or periwinkle, and looked through the lighted windows.’

  1. 1.1mass noun A purple-blue colour like that of a periwinkle flower.
     ‘the sky was a clear periwinkle and the sun sparkled like a shiny jewel’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Anne was wearing a periwinkle evening gown with small puffed sleeves’
     • ‘The basic color scheme is a soft buttery yellow for the cabinets, with periwinkle blue on the cabinet handles.’
     • ‘She bent to retrieve the periwinkle colored ribbon neatly folded on the floor.’
     • ‘It's a light purple, almost a periwinkle, sleeveless, and with little diamonds all over.’
     • ‘Rubbing at her tired eyes, she looked outside, seeing the ethereal colors of dawn, the light purples, periwinkle blues mixing together.’
     • ‘His models wore white pan stick, triangular crimped wigs and periwinkle boots.’
     • ‘She started by choosing light and midtone shades of the same four colors - periwinkle, yellow, green, and peachy white.’
     • ‘Periwinkle eye shadow was dusted across her eyelids.’
     • ‘Rather than removing the fence, or disguising it with vines or shrubs, the owners had it painted periwinkle blue.’
     • ‘She painted the oven doors periwinkle blue then touched up knobs and dials in a bright orange enamel paint.’
     • ‘The style is available in sizes M-2XL in brick, plum, periwinkle, lime, denim, pine, and orange.’

noun