Word forms: comparative ruddier, superlative ruddiest
1. adjective
If you describe someone's face as ruddy, you mean that their face is a reddish colour, usually because they are healthy orhave been working hard, or because they are angry or embarrassed.
He had a naturally ruddy complexion.
His face is still ruddy and handsome.
Synonyms: rosy, red, fresh, healthy More Synonyms of ruddy
2. graded adjective
Something that is ruddy is reddish in colour.
[literary]
...barges, with their sails ruddy brown from regular dressing of ochre.
Synonyms: red, pink, scarlet, ruby More Synonyms of ruddy
3. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Ruddy is used by some people to emphasize what they are saying, especially when they are angry.
[British, old-fashioned, rude, emphasis]
He took the paraffin stove on a picnic and the ruddy thing wouldn't work.
More Synonyms of ruddy
ruddy in British English
(ˈrʌdɪ)
adjectiveWord forms: -dier or -diest
1.
(of the complexion) having a healthy reddish colour, usually resulting from an outdoor life
2.
coloured red or pink
a ruddy sky
adverb, adjective informal, mainly British
3.
(intensifier) bloody; damned
a ruddy fool
Derived forms
ruddily (ˈruddily)
adverb
ruddiness (ˈruddiness)
noun
Word origin
Old English rudig, from rudu redness (see rudd); related to Old High German rotred1, Swedish rod, Old Norse rythga to make rusty
ruddy in American English
(ˈrʌdi)
adjectiveWord forms: ˈruddier or ˈruddiest
1.
having a healthy red color
a ruddy complexion
2.
red or reddish
3. British, Informal
confounded: an intensive
also used adverbially
Derived forms
ruddiness (ˈruddiness)
noun
Word origin
ME rudi < OE rudig < rudu, red: see rudd; (sense 3) euphemism for bloody
Examples of 'ruddy' in a sentence
ruddy
The sound was probably deflected by this ruddy great iceberg.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
No snow this time but a ruddy great storm is going on outside the big industrial unit.
The Sun (2010)
If his ruddy complexion and beaming smile was anything to go by, he loved it.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Why the ruddy hell not?
The Sun (2009)
I can't see many other silver linings to this ruddy great cloud.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
GETTING rid of ruddy ducks has landed taxpayers with a whopping bill of more than 1million.
The Sun (2014)
A feature is the ruddy duck which first bred in Britain here.
Perring, Franklyn A Guide to Britain's Conservation Heritage (1991)
Now he is a giant, his face ruddy... enormously stout.
Christopher Hibbert DISRAELI: A Personal History (2004)
Don't they all look like they're having a ruddy marvellous time?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Yet since they emerge from a dramatic vacuum there's a ruddy great 'why?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
With the ruddy complexion and amiable air of a village butcher, Goldie mixes hope with realism.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
He has a floppy head of hair with white flecks, and a happy, slightly ruddy face.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The cathedral's trebles sang with fresh colours and a ruddy glow quite beyond a concert choir's reach.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
NO wonder Santa's cheeks are so ruddy.
The Sun (2013)
This chronic condition causes a ruddy nose and cheeks and while its cause isn't known, possible triggers include hot and cold weather and sunlight.
The Sun (2016)
You watch and your toes curl along with his lip; as that big, ruddy face of his swells with the simple pleasure of being beastly to people.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
ruddy
British English: ruddy ADJECTIVE
If you describe someone's face as ruddy, you mean that their face is a reddish colour.
He had a naturally ruddy complexion.
American English: ruddy
Brazilian Portuguese: corado
Chinese: > 红的面色
European Spanish: rubicundo
French: rougeaud
German: rötlich
Italian: rubicondo
Japanese: 赤らんだ
Korean: > 불그스레한안색이
European Portuguese: corado
Latin American Spanish: rubicundo
1 (adjective)
Definition
(of the complexion) having a healthy reddish colour
He had a naturally ruddy complexion.
Synonyms
rosy
She had bright, rosy cheeks.
red
She was red with shame.
fresh
His fresh complexion made him look young.
healthy
glowing
a happy face, glowing with good health
blooming
flushed
blushing
radiant
reddish
sanguine
florid
He was a stout, florid man.
sunburnt
A badly sunburnt face or back is extremely painful.
rosy-cheeked
rubicund
Opposites
white
,
grey
,
pale
,
wan
,
sickly
,
colourless
,
pallid
,
anaemic
,
ashen
2 (adjective)
Definition
red or pink
barges, with their sails ruddy brown
Synonyms
red
a red coat
pink
his pink face
scarlet
ruby
crimson
reddish
roseate
3 (adjective)
Definition
bloody
The ruddy thing wouldn't work.
Synonyms
damn
blasted (slang)
I couldn't get that blasted door open.
bloody (British, informal)
I was being a bloody nuisance, so they sent me home.
blessed
No-one knows a blessed thing about us.
damned (slang)
They're a damned nuisance.
flaming
What the flaming hell do you think you're doing?
bleeding (British, informal)
blooming (British, informal)
It's a blooming nuisance because it frightens my dog to death.
freaking (slang, mainly US)
flipping (British, informal)
blinking (British, informal)
confounded
goddam (US, informal)
effing (British, informal)
see also subject word lists:
See Shades of red
Additional synonyms
in the sense of blasted
Definition
extreme or extremely
I couldn't get that blasted door open.
Synonyms
damned (slang),
bloody (slang),
freaking (slang, US),
confounded,
hateful,
infernal (informal),
detestable
in the sense of blessed
Definition
damned
No-one knows a blessed thing about us.
Synonyms
damned (slang),
bloody (slang),
freaking (slang, US),
confounded,
goddamn
in the sense of bloody
Definition
extreme or extremely
I was being a bloody nuisance, so they sent me home.
Synonyms
damned (slang),
flaming,
fucking (taboo, slang),
bleeding,
blooming (informal),
freaking (slang, US),
rotten,
blinking,
confounded,
ruddy,
infernal (informal),
deuced,
wretched,
frigging (taboo, slang)
Nearby words of
ruddy
ruck
rucksack
ructions
ruddy
rude
rudeness
rudiment
Synonyms of 'ruddy'
ruddy
Explore 'ruddy' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of blooming
Definition
extreme or extremely
It's a blooming nuisance because it frightens my dog to death.
Synonyms
damned (slang),
bloody (slang, British, slang),
flaming (informal),
fucking (offensive, taboo, slang),
bleeding (British, slang),
freaking (slang, US),
rotten,
blinking (informal),
confounded,
ruddy (informal, British),
infernal,
deuced (British, informal),
wretched,
frigging (taboo, slang)
in the sense of damned
They're a damned nuisance.
Synonyms
infernal,
accursed,
detestable,
revolting,
infamous,
confounded,
despicable,
abhorred,
hateful,
loathsome,
abominable,
freaking (slang, US)
in the sense of flaming
Definition
extreme
What the flaming hell do you think you're doing?
Synonyms
damned (slang),
bloody (slang),
bleeding (slang),
blooming (informal),
freaking (slang, US),
ruddy (informal),
effing (slang)
in the sense of florid
Definition
having a red or flushed complexion
He was a stout, florid man.
Synonyms
flushed,
ruddy,
rubicund,
high-coloured,
high-complexioned,
blowsy
in the sense of flushed
Synonyms
blushing,
red,
hot,
burning,
embarrassed,
glowing,
rosy,
crimson,
feverish,
ruddy,
rubicund (old-fashioned)
in the sense of fresh
Definition
having a healthy or ruddy appearance
His fresh complexion made him look young.
Synonyms
rosy,
clear,
fair,
bright,
healthy,
glowing,
hardy,
blooming,
wholesome,
ruddy,
florid,
dewy,
good
in the sense of glowing
a happy face, glowing with good health
Synonyms
aglow,
red,
bright,
beaming,
radiant,
suffused
in the sense of pink
Definition
of a colour between red and white
his pink face
Synonyms
rosy,
rose,
salmon,
flushed,
reddish,
flesh coloured,
roseate
in the sense of roseate
Definition
of the colour rose or pink
Synonyms
pink,
red,
blooming (informal),
blushing,
rosy,
ruddy,
pinkish,
rose-coloured,
rubicund (old-fashioned)
in the sense of sunburnt
A badly sunburnt face or back is extremely painful.