How to Use thistle in a Sentence

thistle

noun
Definition of thistlenext
  • As the new year began, the 60 acres of thistle were gone.
    — Isabella Tree, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2020
  • For the blues of her dress: viburnum berries and the thistle-like Eryngium.
    — Lindsey Taylor, WSJ, 24 Jan. 2019
  • The one real road is banked with thistles five feet high.
    — Antonia Quirke, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 May 2024
  • Remove back from the stem and thistle in the middle of the artichoke.
    — Redbook, 21 Mar. 2012
  • The little ones played, wrestling and scratching at a thistle.
    — Nara Schoenberg, chicagotribune.com, 6 Oct. 2020
  • The piece was silver and featured a purple amethyst atop the thistle.
    — Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 June 2022
  • Each pack comes with a set of 3-inch glass bulbs in the shade: bronze, champagne, gold, olive, silver, and thistle.
    — Jennifer Aldrich, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Oct. 2021
  • The artichokes are about to open and the purple of the first thistle is enchanting.
    — Debbie Arrington, sacbee.com, 9 June 2017
  • In between each shield is an emblem of the U.K. nations: a rose, a thistle, a shamrock and a leek.
    — Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 29 Dec. 2022
  • In between each shield is an emblem of the U.K. nations: a rose, a thistle, a shamrock and a leek.
    — Phil Boucher, Peoplemag, 20 Dec. 2022
  • Thistle, grasses and weedy plants are also a draw for these showy birds.
    — Jennifer J. Meyer, Orange County Register, 24 Jan. 2017
  • From the time of that first Adam to the time of his descendants today, man’s lot has been labor and sweat, thorns and thistles.
    — Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review, 28 Aug. 2017
  • And now the great thistle invasion seemed to be proving them right.
    — Isabella Tree, Time, 3 Oct. 2019
  • Barely-blue thistle keeps the gray from feeling too stark.
    — Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 7 Nov. 2022
  • Stick around for the Artichoke Festival on June 2 and 3 for more foods that take their cue from the spiky green thistle.
    — Mary Forgione, latimes.com, 1 Apr. 2018
  • Oily seeds like black-oil sunflower seed and thistle can go rancid over time, and birds won't eat it.
    — Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Oct. 2021
  • Some are made to feed sunflower seeds, while others can be used with tiny thistle seeds.
    — The Editors, Field & Stream, 22 Aug. 2019
  • To him, health means the maintenance of healing practices that trace back centuries: the harvest and the use of plants like mullein, sumac, thistle and wild thyme.
    — Michael W. Twitty, Bon Appétit, 13 May 2021
  • To help the birds survive the cold, Winger said people can offer seeds in bird feeders or thistle feeders.
    — Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 19 Jan. 2024
  • To help the birds survive the cold, Winger said, people can provide seeds in bird feeders or thistle feeders.
    — Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 19 Jan. 2024
  • The vegetable, a relative of the thistle, features leathery, thorny green leaves or petals attached to a round base.
    — Ann Maloney, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2022
  • Here, magnolia leaves serve as the base, while cedar, and lavender thistle are woven in for depth and texture, and lights add sparkle.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Nov. 2022
  • This thistle can grow huge its second year, up to 12 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter.
    — Margaret Lauterbach, idahostatesman, 1 June 2018
  • The seaside cliffs are covered with poppies and thistle flowers, which bringing an air of the countryside to the coast.
    — Harper's BAZAAR, 28 May 2021
  • This is because as seedeaters, the birds wait for thistles to produce seed before building nests and feeding their young.
    — John Heasly, USA TODAY, 6 July 2023
  • Her Majesty also wore the Queen Mary diamond thistle brooch.
    — Abigail Adams, PEOPLE.com, 2 Oct. 2021
  • Bring dimension to the outer edges of the bouquet with thistle; this will serve as your gesture flower.
    — Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, 13 Apr. 2020
  • Choose from a number of bright colors, including grape thistle and graphite gray, all of which are available in sizes 0–20.
    — Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024
  • And then, in the wink of an eye, with the twist of a head, with a finger alongside the nose and a nod, time flies away like the down of a thistle, leaving you beside the next generation’s tree.
    — Marni Jameson, The Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2017
  • Most of the plants come up to my chest, but here and there a thistle rises high above everything else, its bulbous purple head atop a thin green stalk.
    — Danielle Dutton, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thistle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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