blusher

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A colored powder or cream that you put on your cheeks to give them a healthy pink look.

   Grammar: Countable when talking about one product ('a blusher'), uncountable when talking about the substance ('a little blusher').

   Patterns

   • wear blusher
   • apply blusher to something
   • a shade of blusher

   She added a little blusher to her cheeks before the photo.

   This cream blusher blends more easily than powder.

   He bought her a soft peach blusher for her birthday.

2. 2nouncountable

   A person who becomes red in the face, especially someone who does this easily.

   Grammar: Refers to a person, so it takes a plural: 'the blushers in the group'.

   Patterns

   • an easy blusher
   • a terrible blusher

   I'm a terrible blusher, so I hate being praised in public.

   As an easy blusher, he turned red the moment she looked at him.

Word forms

Common combinations

powder blusher

Powder blusher suits oily skin better than cream.

cream blusher

She prefers cream blusher for a natural glow.

apply blusher

Apply blusher along the cheekbones with a soft brush.

a touch of blusher

A touch of blusher made her look healthier.

blusher brush

Wash your blusher brush once a week.

Synonyms and how they differ

rouge

An older word for the same cheek color; it now sounds old-fashioned or technical.

cheek color

A plain, general term used in shops; it is less specific than 'blusher'.

Word family

blush verb

To become red in the face, usually from shyness or embarrassment.

blush noun

The red color that appears on your face when you are shy or embarrassed.

Commonly confused: blusher or blush? blusher or brush?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “blusher”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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