Meaning & use
rouge
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Meanings
noununcountableold-fashioned
A pink or red makeup used to give color to the cheeks.
Grammar: Uncountable: a touch of rouge.
Patterns
- apply rouge
- a dab of rouge
She brushed a touch of rouge across her cheeks.
The actress added rouge before going on stage.
Grandmother kept a tin of rouge on her dresser.
verbtransitiverare
To put this makeup on the cheeks or face.
Grammar: Rare and old-fashioned.
Patterns
- rouge your cheeks
She rouged her cheeks before the party.
The dancers rouged their faces for the show.
He watched her rouge her lips.
noununcountabletechnical
A fine red powder, iron oxide, used to polish metal and gems.
Grammar: Also called jeweler's rouge.
Patterns
- jeweler's rouge
The jeweler polished the ring with rouge.
Rouge gave the silver a bright finish.
He bought a stick of polishing rouge.
adjectiveafter a verbliterary
Red in color; French, used in names such as Moulin Rouge.
Grammar: Mainly in French phrases.
Patterns
- vin rouge
He ordered a glass of vin rouge.
The Moulin Rouge is a famous cabaret.
Baton Rouge means red stick.
Word forms
| third person singular | rouges |
|---|---|
| past tense | rouged |
| past participle | rouged |
| -ing form | rouging |
Common combinations
- a touch of rouge
- A touch of rouge brightened her face.
- apply rouge
- She applied rouge to her cheeks.
- pot of rouge
- A pot of rouge sat by the mirror.
- rouge and lipstick
- She wore rouge and lipstick.
- rouged cheeks
- The doll had rouged cheeks.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- rouged adjective
- colored with rouge
- rougeish adjective
- slightly red, rare
- rubric noun
- a distant relative from Latin ruber, red
Commonly confused: rouge or rogue? rouge or rouse?
rouge vs rogue
A rogue is a dishonest person; rouge is red makeup.
rouge vs rouse
Rouse means to wake someone; it is unrelated.
Practice
In an old film, a woman puts rouge on her ___.
Choose one answer.
Rouge is cheek color. Eyelashes, nails and brows use mascara, polish and pencil.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rouge”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.