Link Centre Dictionary

blush

UK/ˈblʌʃ/ US/ˈblʌʃ/ fairly common us
verb (2) noun (2)

verb

1.

turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame

  • “The girl blushed when a young man whistled as she walked by”
Synonyms
2.

become rosy or reddish

  • “her cheeks blushed in the cold winter air”

noun

1.

a rosy color (especially in the cheeks) taken as a sign of good health

Synonyms
2.

sudden reddening of the face (as from embarrassment or guilt or shame or modesty)

Synonyms

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • at first blush
  • blush is off the peach
  • blush is off the rose
  • blush macaranga
  • blushing bride
  • blushing bunny
  • maiden's blush
  • make the angels blush
  • put to the blush
  • spare someone's blushes

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.