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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

blush.

An act of blushing; a pink or red glow on the face caused by embarrassment, shame, shyness, love, etc.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈblʌʃ/[ˈblʌʃ]
  1. An act of blushing; a pink or red glow on the face caused by embarrassment, shame, shyness, love, etc.

    countable · uncountable
  2. A glow; a flush of colour, especially pink or red.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A feeling or appearance of optimism.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
  4. A cosmetic, frequently a powder, used to redden the cheeks and lips.

    countable · uncountable
  5. A color between pink and cream.

    countable · uncountable
  6. Ellipsis of blush wine.

    US · abbreviation · alt-of · countable · ellipsis · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English blusshen, bluschen, blusschen, blisshen, from Old English blysċan (“to be red; shine”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *blaskijaną, from *blasǭ (“burning candle; torch”) or alternatively from Proto-Germanic *bluskijaną, from *blusjǭ (“torch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-. Cognate with Middle Low German blöschen (“to blush”). Compare also Old English blysian (“to burn; blaze”), Dutch blozen (“to blush”), Danish blusse (“to blush”), Old Norse blys (“torch”), Danish blus (“blaze”).

verb/ˈblʌʃ/[ˈblʌʃ]
  1. To become red or pink in the face (and sometimes experience an associated feeling of warmth), especially due to shyness, love, shame, excitement, or embarrassment.

    intransitive
    The love scene made him blush to the roots of his hair / to the tips of his ears.
    He wasn't used to this much attention, so he blushed as he saw dozens of pairs of eyes watching him.
  2. To be shy, ashamed, or embarrassed (to do something).

    figuratively · intransitive
  3. To become red or pink.

    intransitive
  4. To suffuse with a blush; to redden; to pinken; to make rosy.

    transitive
  5. To change skin color in the face (to a particular shade).

    copulative
    When he saw it, he blushed a beet red.
    I wasn't surprised, but it was embarrassing enough that I blushed a little pink.
  6. To express or make known by blushing.

    transitive
    Looking at me with a knowing glare, she blushed her discomfort with the situation.
  7. To have a warm and delicate colour, like some roses and other flowers.

    intransitive
    The garden was full of blossoms that blushed in myriad shades to form a beautiful carpet of color.
  8. To glance with the eye, cast a glance.

    intransitive · obsolete
  9. Of dope or varnish: to develop an undesirable white precipitate on the surface, due to being applied in humid conditions.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English blusshen, bluschen, blusschen, blisshen, from Old English blysċan (“to be red; shine”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *blaskijaną, from *blasǭ (“burning candle; torch”) or alternatively from Proto-Germanic *bluskijaną, from *blusjǭ (“torch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-. Cognate with Middle Low German blöschen (“to blush”). Compare also Old English blysian (“to burn; blaze”), Dutch blozen (“to blush”), Danish blusse (“to blush”), Old Norse blys (“torch”), Danish blus (“blaze”).

noun/ˈblʌʃ/[ˈblʌʃ]
  1. The collective noun for a group of boys.

    a blush of boys
Where this word comes from

Unknown; attested in the late 15th century.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.