blush
/blʌʃ
/verb
1 [no object] Show shyness, embarrassment, or shame by becoming red in the face: she blushed at the unexpected compliment [with complement]: Kate felt herself blushing scarlet...
- When he asked us why we were giving him a present, we just blushed - our shame at the real reason was interpreted as a crush.
- I shook my head to clear the thought as my face blushed with shame.
- I answered, blushing slightly, my shyness obvious in my soft yet high voice.
Synonyms
redden, turn/go pink, turn/go red, turn/go crimson, turn/go scarlet, flush, colour, crimson, tint, burn up;
feel shy, feel embarrassment, feel shame, feel embarrassed, feel ashamed, feel sheepish, feel mortified
archaic mantle
1.1Feel embarrassed or ashamed: [with infinitive]: he blushed to think of how he’d paraded himself...
- He blushed, discomfited by the five pairs of eyes staring at him, and ruffled his hair.
- But then, if financial scandals made you blush, the entire reconstruction of the country would be pretty mortifying.
- At one time, any hostess getting ready for a dinner party would blush for shame to think that she had bought her meal from a supermarket.
2 (often as adjective blushing) literary Be or become pink or pale red: the trees are loaded with blushing blossoms...
- From a distance, the blossoms look like pink clouds floating over blushing pools of fallen petals.
- As you might imagine, its name gives a vivid word picture for the color changes, blushing from ivory to pink and finally red when mature.
- From Thursday on, the television cameras will beam sumptuous shots of loblolly pines and blushing azaleas around the world.
noun
1A reddening of the face as a sign of shyness, embarrassment, or shame: he had brought a faint blush to her cheeks...
- Lor gave a faint, but apparent sign of a blush in her cheek.
- Their button black eyes looked her over and lingered on certain areas that made her feel very uncomfortable and brought a faint blush to her cheeks.
- Some of the comments are priceless and deserve to be preserved, with the hope that they might at some future date bring a blush of shame to the cheeks of the more honorable.
Synonyms
flush, reddening, high colour, colour, rosiness, pinkness, ruddiness, bloom
2A pink or pale red tinge: the roses were white with a lovely pink blush...
- As he sprays reactive chemicals on the test strips, a pink blush spreads across the paper.
- From the front view was the setting sun giving a blush of pink, peach, orange and some purple.
- A bright hue, a rosy blush, pretty skin that's blemish free, and a plump shape - these are generally key for ripe fruits.
3 [mass noun, often as modifier] A wine with a slight pink tint made in the manner of white wine but from red grape varieties: blush Zinfandel...
- A vin gris or blush wine is made as above but with no maceration.
- Dry and semi-dry roses or blush wines exhibit fresh and fruity flavors and have a moderately high level of acidity.
- So, if he wants to drink a blush wine from California, he will, thank you.
4 [mass noun] North American another term for blusher (sense 1).I put on foundation, powder, blush, pale pink eye shadow, and pink lip-gloss....
- No blush or pink cheeks, she knew she would already be blushing by herself later on.
- Her face glowed, smooth and flawless, her cheeks slightly pink with the blush Angie had used.
Phrases
at first blush
spare (or save) someone's blushes
Derivatives
blushingly
/ adverb ...- They giggle and whisper to each other, as cool and direct and blushingly unnerving as any group of pretty teenagers.
- When the photographer suggests that she remove her gilet for the shot, Lauren blushingly demurs on the grounds that her bra can be seen through her sweater.
- I remember giving Bernie a big hug afterwards, as he blushingly folded away his piece of crumpled paper.
Origin
Old English blyscan; related to modern Dutch blozen.