Ablush

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈblʌʃ/

Definitions

1. To experience a reddening of the skin, especially on the face, as a result of emotional stimuli such as embarrassment or excitement
2. To display a rosy tint on one's complexion, often arising from feelings of shyness or nervousness
3. To turn red in the face due to strong emotions like embarrassment or excitement, resulting in a noticeable change in skin color

Etymology: Ablush is a rare adjective that meant simply "blushing," and its history is a story of an old prefix hanging on to a verb. The a- comes from Old English "on," a preposition meaning "on" or "in," which over the centuries wore down to an unstressed a- and was then attached to words to mean "in a state of" or "being." Forms like "aflame" and "asleep" follow the same pattern, with the prefix turning a noun or verb into a description of a condition. Blush itself is the older and more familiar part, a word that means to redden in the face from shame, embarrassment or modesty. Put the two together and you get a word that describes someone in the act of colouring up. The prefix gives the sense of "in the condition of blushing," a construction English once used freely and now mostly keeps for a few survivors.

Synonyms: blushing, reddened

Antonyms: pale, ashen