Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having a healthy, reddish color.
  • adjective Reddish; rosy.
  • adjective Chiefly British Slang Used as an intensive.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of a red color; reddish; inclining to red; rosy: as, a ruddy blaze; ruddy clouds; ruddy gold; ruddy cheeks.
  • Glowing; cheery; bright.
  • Synonyms Ruddy, Rubicund, Rosy. Ruddy indicates a fresh and healthy red upon the human skin, or, by extension, upon skies, etc. Rubicund indicates an unnatural red in the face or some part of it, as the cheeks or the nose; it is especially associated with high living or intemperance in drink. Rosy generally indicates a charming, blooming red: as, rosy cheeks; but it is occasionally used in a bad sense.
  • To make red or ruddy.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb rare To make ruddy.
  • adjective Of a red color; red, or reddish.
  • adjective Of a lively flesh color, or the color of the human skin in high health.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) an American duck (Erismatura rubida) having a broad bill and a wedge-shaped tail composed of stiff, sharp feathers. The adult male is rich brownish red on the back, sides, and neck, black on the top of the head, nape, wings, and tail, and white on the cheeks. The female and young male are dull brown mixed with blackish on the back; grayish below. Called also dunbird, dundiver, ruddy diver, stifftail, spinetail, hardhead, sleepy duck, fool duck, spoonbill, etc.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) the sanderling.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Reddish in color, especially of the face, fire, or sky.
  • adjective UK, slang A mild intensifier.
  • noun informal ruddy duck
  • verb transitive To make reddish in colour.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life
  • adjective of a color at the end of the color spectrum (next to orange); resembling the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English rudi, from Old English rudig; see reudh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English rudiġ.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Cubrian term for raddle.

    February 18, 2010

  • "There was blood on his face, and he looked pinker than I'd ever seen him, ruddy with health." -Club Dead, by Charlaine Harris

    February 5, 2011