redden

redden — verb

1. to turn red or to make something turn red — for instance, a person's cheeks may

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to turn red or to make something turn red — for instance, a person's cheeks may redden from embarrassment, or leaves redden in autumn.

Example

Noa's cheeks reddened when the teacher praised her in front of the class.

intransitive: cheeks/face redden from emotion

The autumn wind reddened the leaves on the maple trees along the street.

transitive: wind/weather reddens leaves

Synonyms
  • flush

    specifically of a face becoming red from emotion or physical causes such as heat, more literary

  • blush

    limited to the face and specifically means reddening from embarrassment or shyness

  • turn red

    more common in everyday speech; can replace 'redden' in most contexts

Antonyms
  • pale

    to become lighter or whiter in colour

Grammar Patterns

something reddens

redden + noun

Usage Note

Both transitive and intransitive uses are common. Typical subjects include the face or cheeks from emotion, skin from sun exposure, and leaves in autumn.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Redden is the most general verb for becoming red — it can describe faces, skin, leaves, food, or any object changing colour. Blush is limited to the face and specifically means reddening from embarrassment, shyness, or modesty. Flush can describe the face reddening from a wider range of emotions (anger, pride, excitement) or from physical causes like fever or exercise. Turn red is the most common everyday phrase and can replace redden in almost all contexts, though it is less formal. For example: 'Her cheeks reddened when she walked into the cold wind' (neutral observation) versus 'She blushed when he complimented her haircut' (embarrassment) versus 'His face flushed with anger as he stood up from the table' (strong emotion).

redden ↗blush ↗flush ↗turn red

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • start to redden
  • begin to redden

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Old English 'rēad' (red) plus the verb-forming suffix '-ian', making it a denominal verb meaning 'to become or make red'. The word is related to the same Germanic root as German 'rot' and Dutch 'rood' (red), and is distantly connected to Latin 'ruber' and Greek 'erythros' through the shared Indo-European root for red.