What does burgeon mean?
Word: Burgeon
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Burgeon means to start growing or spreading fast.
Synonyms: flourish
Antonyms: dwindle
How do you spell burgeon?
Syllables: bur - geon
Tricky part: After the g comes an e that you cannot hear. Pupils tend to write burjon or burgon and lose it.
Watch out for: burjon, burgon
Memory tip: A pigeon has the same quiet e after its g.
Burgeon in a sentence
Example 1: Interest in chess has burgeoned at our school since the inter-house contest.
Example 2: Wild flowers burgeon along the railway line after the first rains.
Example 3: India's space industry has burgeoned in recent years.
Fun Fact
The word first belonged to the garden: it comes from an Old French word for a bud, and described a plant putting out new growth.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is correct. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. exuberent 2. burgeon 3. mediocer 4. perseverence
a) steady effort in spite of difficulty
b) to shoot up and spread rapidly
c) of only average quality
d) full of energy and excitement
Show answer
b) to shoot up and spread rapidly. Mediocre ends in re, exuberant has an a before the nt, and perseverance ends in ance.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word burgeon as used in the sentence:
Small online shops began to burgeon after fast internet reached the town.
a) shrink
b) close
c) struggle
d) thrive
Show answer
d) thrive. To thrive is to do very well and keep getting stronger.
Mingle-Mangle
Which word do the jumbled letters in the sentence spell?
Mango orchards will guoenbr across the valley once the new canal brings water.
a) surgeon
b) bargain
c) burgeon
d) burden
Show answer
c) burgeon. The letters give a b, a u, a g and an o, which leaves a single option.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The town's small book club began to bergeon last winter when two local teachers offered to run a weekly reading hour for younger children.
a) weekly
b) bergeon
c) younger
d) offered
Show answer
b) bergeon. The vowel before the r should be a u.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which headline shows something that has burgeoned?
a) Cycling race put off until next month
b) City's cycling clubs treble in two years
c) Club members stay the same in number
d) Cycle shop shuts after a quiet season
Show answer
b) City's cycling clubs treble in two years
2. A garden in spring that is burgeoning would be
a) bare and frosty
b) full of fresh new shoots
c) neatly fenced
d) freshly cleared
Show answer
b) full of fresh new shoots
