Meanings
blanch1
present singular third person blanches · participle present blanching · participle past blanched · past blanched
- intransitiveTo grow or become white.
His cheek blanched with fear.
3 more examples
The rose blanches in the sun.
Nurse Cramer's face blanched and she turned to Dunbar desperately for aid.
1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 171"Where is the target?" "Bearing zero-four-five, Comrade. Bearing is constant," the michman replied, "closing rapidly." Tupolev blanched. "Left full rudder, all ahead flank!"
1984, Tom Clancy, “The Seventeenth Day: Sunday, 19 December”, in The Hunt for Red October, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, →ISBN, page 456 - figurativelytransitiveTo give a favorable appearance to; to whitewash; to whiten;
c. 1680, John Tillotson, The indispensable necessity of the knowledge of the Holy Scripture Blanch over the blackest and most absurd things.
Synonyms: palliate
blanch2
present singular third person blanches · participle present blanching · participle past blanched · past blanched
- To avoid, as from fear; to evade; to leave unnoticed.
I suppose you will not blanch Paris in your way.
1624-39, Sir Henry Wotton, Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (published 1651), page 3431 more example
Ifs and ands to qualify words of treason; whereby every man might express his malice, and blanch his danger.
1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC - To cause to turn aside or back.
to blanch a deer
- To use evasion.
Books will speak plain, when counsellors blanch.
1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Counsel”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC
Blanch3
- A female given name from French, a less common spelling of Blanche.
That daughter there of Spain, the Lady Blanch, / Is near to England: look upon the years / Of Lewis the Dauphin and the lovely maid. / If lusty love should go in quest of beauty, / Where should he find it fairer than in Blanch?
, Scene 1
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo give a favorable appearance to; to whitewash; to whiten;
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
blanch · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰleyǵ-“to shine”
- Proto-Germanic*blankaz“bright, shining, blinding, white”
- Frankish*blank
- Early Medieval Latinblancus
- Old Frenchblanc“white”
- Old Frenchblanchir
- Middle Englishblaunchen
- Englishblanch
From Middle English blaunchen, from Old French blanchir, from Old French blanc (“white”), from Early Medieval Latin blancus, from Frankish *blank, from Proto-Germanic *blankaz (“bright, shining, blinding, white”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”). Cognates Cognate with blench (“to deceive, to trick”) through Proto-Indo-European, whence other etymology of blanch.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Early Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →blanch · verb
Variant of blench, of same Proto-Indo-European origin.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek λευκαίνω, λευκαίνω
- λευκαίνω (leukaínō)to grow or become white
- λευκαίνω (leukaínō)to make white
Bulgarian побелявам, бланширам
- побелявам (pobeljavam)to grow or become white
- бланширам (blanširam)to cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- избелвам (izbelvam)to make white
Chinese Mandarin 焯
- 焯 (chāo)to cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
Dutch verbleken, blancheren
- verblekento grow or become white
- blancherento cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- blekento make white
- wittento make white
Finnish kalveta, kaltata
- kalvetato grow or become white
- kaltatato cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- valkaistato make white
French blanchir, blanchir
- blanchirto grow or become white
- blanchirto cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- monderto cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- blanchirto make white
German erbleichen, blanchieren
- erbleichento grow or become white
- blanchierento cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
Hungarian blansíroz
- blansírozto cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
Irish bánaigh, bánaigh
- bánaighto grow or become white
- bánaighto make white
Norwegian blekne
- blekneto grow or become white
Norwegian Bokmål skålde, bleke
- skåldeto cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- bleketo make white
Polish blaknąć, zblaknąć
- blaknąćto grow or become white
- zblaknąćto grow or become white
- blednąćto grow or become white
- zblednąćto grow or become white
- płowiećto grow or become white
- spłowiećto grow or become white
- blanszowaćto cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- zblanszowaćto cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- płowićto make white
- wypławiaćto make white
- wypłowićto make white
Russian бледне́ть, побледне́ть
- бледне́ть (blednétʹ)to grow or become white
- побледне́ть (poblednétʹ)to grow or become white
- беле́ть (belétʹ)to grow or become white
- побеле́ть (pobelétʹ)to grow or become white
- бланширова́ть (blanširovátʹ)to cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- бели́ть (belítʹ)to make white
- побели́ть (pobelítʹ)to make white
Spanish palidecer, empalidecer
- palidecerto grow or become white
- empalidecerto grow or become white
- emblanquecerseto grow or become white
- lividecerto grow or become white
- amarillearto grow or become white
- escaldarto cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- blanquearto cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- emblanquecerto make white
- blanquecerto make white
- blanquearto make white
- armiñarto make white
Swedish blekna, blanchera
- bleknato grow or become white
- blancherato cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water
- blekato make white
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with blanch
All rhymes →Cite this entry
blanch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blanch
“blanch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blanch. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blanch,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blanch.
Source: blanch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.