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blush

/ˈblʌʃ/noun, verb

blush is spelled B-L-U-S-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.6 times per million words in written English, the 13,695th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, blush means “An act of blushing; a pink or red glow on the face caused by embarrassment, shame, shyness, love, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of blush is blushes.

How many letters and syllables are in blush?

Letters5: B-L-U-S-H
Syllables1
In writing3.6 times per million words; the 13,695th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is blush?

Blush appears 3.6 times per million words in written English, the 13,695th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce blush?

  • /ˈblʌʃ/
  • [ˈblʌʃ]

Blush has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-blush.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with blush

Also written: blush wine.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of blush

  • blushes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • blushing participle, present
  • blushed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does blush mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

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

  2. 2

    A glow; a flush of colour, especially pink or red.

  3. 3

    A feeling or appearance of optimism.

  4. 4

    A cosmetic, frequently a powder, used to redden the cheeks and lips.

    The same rules that apply to face powder apply to powder blush, since neither contains water. Cream blush, however, should be replaced after a year. To prolong the life of any blush, clean your blush brush regularly and store the product in

  5. 5

    A color between pink and cream.

  6. 6

    USEllipsis of blush wine.

  7. 7

    The collective noun for a group of boys.

    a blush of boys

verb

  1. 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.

    The love scene made him blush to the roots of his hair / to the tips of his ears.

  2. 2

    To be shy, ashamed, or embarrassed (to do something).

  3. 3

    To become red or pink.

  4. 4

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

  5. 5

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

    When he saw it, he blushed a beet red.

  6. 6

    To express or make known by blushing.

    Looking at me with a knowing glare, she blushed her discomfort with the situation.

  7. 7

    To have a warm and delicate colour, like some roses and other flowers.

    The garden was full of blossoms that blushed in myriad shades to form a beautiful carpet of color.

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo glance with the eye, cast a glance.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Blush in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrougeur (an act of blushing), fard, fard à joues, blush (cosmetic for reddening the cheeks and lips), rougir, s'empourprer (to redden or pinken in the face from shame…)
GermanSchamröte, Erröten, Röte, Gesichtsröte, Schamesröte (an act of blushing), Rouge (cosmetic for reddening the cheeks and lips)
Portugueseenrubescimento, corar (an act of blushing), blush (cosmetic for reddening the cheeks and lips), ruborizar, enrubescer (to redden or pinken in the face from shame…)
Spanishbochorno (an act of blushing), colorete, arrebol, rubor (cosmetic for reddening the cheeks and lips), ruborizarse, enrojecerse (to redden or pinken in the face from shame…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does blush come 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-.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after blush