# vanilla

Pronunciation: say "vuh-NIL-uh" /vəˈnɪl.ə/

## Noun

1. The distinctive fragrant flavor that is characteristic of extract drawn from vanilla beans.
   - Simple: The sweet, warm taste that comes from vanilla beans, found in ice cream and many cakes.
   - _The cream was rich with vanilla and a touch of honey._
   - _A faint vanilla note lingered in the freshly baked sponge._
2. A flavoring in the form of an extract drawn from the seed pods of the vanilla plant.
   - Simple: A flavoring liquid made from the beans of the vanilla plant.
   - _A few drops of vanilla gave the frosting a warm aroma._
   - _Bakers often pay a premium for high-quality vanilla._
4. A tropical climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla, especially Vanilla planifolia, whose podlike fruit yields the extract used to flavor food and scent perfumes.
   - Simple: A tropical climbing plant whose long pods are used to make a sweet flavoring.
   - _The vanilla flowers for only a single day, so pollination must happen quickly._
   - _Growers train each vanilla along wires to make harvesting easier._
5. The pod-like fruit, or bean, produced by the vanilla plant.
   - Simple: The long, thin bean of the vanilla plant, used to add flavor to food.
   - _The chef slit a vanilla lengthwise to release its fragrant seeds._
   - _Workers harvest the green vanillas by hand before curing them in the sun._
9. A yellowish-white color resembling vanilla ice cream.
   - Simple: A pale, creamy yellow-white color, like vanilla ice cream.
   - _The designer chose vanilla for the nursery walls to keep the room calm and bright._
   - _His linen suit was a pale vanilla that worked well in the summer light._
10. An artificially produced substitute for natural vanilla extract, chiefly vanillin made from wood pulp byproducts or from petrochemicals.
   - Simple: A man-made flavoring that copies real vanilla, used in many cheap foods.
   - _Manufacturers rely on synthetic vanilla because it costs far less than the natural extract._
   - _Much of the vanilla in processed food is actually vanillin made from petrochemicals._
11. The original, unmodified version of a video game, without any player-made modifications. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A video game played the normal way, with no fan-made changes added.
   - _He beat the game on vanilla before installing the popular overhaul mod._
   - _The server runs vanilla so that everyone plays on equal footing._
12. A person whose sexual tastes are conventional, without interest in fetishism or kink. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who enjoys ordinary sexual tastes and not kinky ones.
   - _As a self-described vanilla, she found the workshop more curious than appealing._
   - _The group welcomes both vanillas and people with more adventurous tastes._

## Adjective

3. Plain, conventional, and lacking imagination or excitement.
   - Simple: Ordinary and a little boring, with nothing special or exciting about it.
   - _The album was competent but vanilla, with no risks taken anywhere._
   - _Critics called the redesign disappointingly vanilla._
6. Relating to or flavored with vanilla.
   - Simple: Made with vanilla or tasting of it.
   - _He ordered a vanilla milkshake with an extra shot of syrup._
   - _The perfume opened with a warm vanilla base._
7. Standard or default, without modifications or extra features. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Basic and standard, with no extra features or changes added.
   - _The team deployed a vanilla Linux build before adding their custom tools._
   - _Most users start with the vanilla setup and tweak it later._
8. Of sexual preferences: conventional and not involving kink or BDSM.
   - Simple: Describing ordinary romantic or sexual tastes, not kinky ones.
   - _He considers his preferences fairly vanilla compared with his partner's._
   - _The couple described themselves as vanilla and happy that way._

## Origin

Borrowed from Spanish 'vainilla', a diminutive of 'vaina' ('pod'). The 'plain' senses developed from the perceived plainness of vanilla ice cream.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/vanilla (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).