noun

vanilla

vuh-NIHL-uh

noun

The extract or flavoring made from the pods of a tropical climbing orchid, used widely in baking, desserts, and perfume.

"She added a splash of vanilla to the cake batter."

"The candle had a warm, sweet vanilla scent."

adj

Plain, standard, or unmodified — without any special or extra features.

"We just installed vanilla WordPress, no plugins yet."

"It's a fairly vanilla contract, nothing unusual in the terms."

How to Use Vanilla

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishVanilla is both the familiar sweet flavoring from a tropical orchid, and — informally — a word for anything plain, basic, or without extras.

When to use it

The "plain/basic" adjective sense is informal and common in tech and casual speech ("a vanilla install").

Common pairings

vanilla extract vanilla ice cream vanilla flavor plain vanilla

Word Forms

more vanilla comparative, vanillas plural, most vanilla superlative

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She added a splash of _____ to the cake batter.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish vainilla, literally "little pod" — a diminutive of vaina ("pod" or "sheath"), referring to the shape of the vanilla bean. The figurative sense of "plain" or "basic" grew out of vanilla being the default, unadorned ice cream flavor.

Synonyms

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vanillar

Rhymes for vanilla

villa Cilla milla Willa Silla gorilla Camilla Sevilla Marilla Lucilla Padilla tortilla

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