Greener

How to spell greener

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce greener

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does greener mean?

1. adjectiveMore green in colour, or describing something more environmentally friendly.
2. adjectiveMore naive or less experienced than someone else.

Greener in a sentence

• The lawn looked much greener after a week of steady rain.

• He was even greener than the other recruits on his first day.

• The company switched suppliers to make its packaging greener and less wasteful.

• She felt much greener than her seasoned colleagues during the meeting.

Where does greener come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the comparative form of the adjective 'green', a thoroughly native English word descending from Old English 'grene', which meant the colour of growing plants and grass. That word traces back to a Germanic root shared with 'grow' and 'grass', all linked to the idea of living, sprouting vegetation. The comparative ending '-er', meaning 'more', is likewise an old Germanic inheritance still used across English to compare adjectives, as in 'taller' and 'darker'. Because both 'green' and '-er' are so familiar, the only spelling point to watch is the simple doubling of the consonant cluster, with the single 'n' kept and 'er' added cleanly. The figurative sense of 'green' as inexperienced, which gives 'greener' the meaning of more naive, grew from the image of unripe, immature plants.

How the word is built

• green (the colour/root adjective)
• -er (comparative suffix)