I. blush 1 /blʌʃ/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: blyscan 'to become red' , from blysa 'flame' ]
1 . to become red in the face, usually because you are embarrassed:
Wilson saw she was watching him and blushed.
Joan blushed at the unexpected compliment.
Kate blushed scarlet.
REGISTER
In everyday British English, people often say go red rather than blush :
▪
She went red when he looked at her.
2 . to feel ashamed or embarrassed about something
blush to do something
I blush to admit that I haven’t read it.
3 . something that would make somebody blush something so shocking that it would shock someone who is not normally easily shocked:
language that would make a sailor blush
4 . the blushing bride a young woman on her wedding day – used humorously
—blushingly adverb
II. blush 2 BrE AmE noun
1 . [countable] the red colour on your face that appears when you are embarrassed:
Donald felt a blush warm his cheeks.
She bent her head to hide her blushes.
2 . at first blush literary when first thought of or considered:
At first blush, this sounds like good news.
⇨ spare sb’s blushes at ↑ spare 2 (10)