Shrub vs. Lilac — What's the Difference?

A shrub (or bush, but this is more of a gardening term) is a small- to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground.

A Eurasian shrub or small tree of the olive family, which has fragrant violet, pink, or white blossom and is a popular garden ornamental.

A woody plant of relatively low height, having several stems arising from the base and lacking a single trunk; a bush.

Any of various shrubs of the genus Syringa, especially S. vulgaris, which has been widely cultivated for its clusters of fragrant flowers that are usually purplish or white but may be pink, blue, or creamy yellow depending on the cultivar.

A beverage made from fruit juice, sugar, and a liquor such as rum or brandy.

A pale to light or moderate purple.

A woody plant smaller than a tree, and usually with several stems from the same base.

A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.

(Kenyan English) A word mispronounced by replacing some consonant sounds with others of a similar place of articulation due to interference from one's knowledge of an indigenous Kenyan language.

A flower of the lilac shrub.

A liquor composed of vegetable acid, fruit juice (especially lemon), sugar, sometimes vinegar, and a small amount of spirit as a preservative. Modern shrub is usually non-alcoholic, but in earlier times it was often mixed with a substantial amount of spirit such as brandy or rum, thus making it a liqueur.

(color) A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.

(obsolete) To lop; to prune.

Having a pale purple colour.

To mispronounce a word by replacing some consonant sounds with others of a similar place of articulation due to interference from one's knowledge of an indigenous Kenyan language.

A shrub of the genus Syringa. There are six species, natives of Europe and Asia. Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, and Syringa Persica, the Persian lilac, are frequently cultivated for the fragrance and beauty of their purplish or white flowers. In the British colonies various other shrubs have this name.

A liquor composed of vegetable acid, especially lemon juice, and sugar, with spirit to preserve it.

A light purplish color like that of the flower of the purplish lilac.

A woody plant of less size than a tree, and usually with several stems from the same root.

Any of various plants of the genus Syringa having large panicles of usually fragrant flowers

To lop; to prune.

Of a pale purple color

A low woody perennial plant usually having several major branches