rubescent

R1U1B3E1S1C3E1N1T1
/ɹuːˈbɛsənt/

adjective

turning red; reddening

Scrabble 13

Meanings

adjectiverubescent (comparative more rubescent, superlative most rubescent)

comparative more rubescent · superlative most rubescent

  1. turning red; reddening

    Then he could see the modest bookseller, somewhat clammy in his extremities and lost within his academic robe and hood, nervously fidgeting his mortar-board, haled forward by ushers, and tottering rubescent before the chancellor, provost, president (or whoever it might be) who hands out the diploma.

    1919, Christopher Morley, “Again the Narrative is Retarded”, in The Haunted Bookshop, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 171

    Synonyms: rubefacient

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveturning red; reddening

Also see

Origin

  1. Latinrubescens
  2. Englishrubescent

Attested since at least 1730, from Latin rubescens, present participle of rubescere. By surface analysis, Latin rub(eō) + -escent.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with rubescent

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Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

rubescent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubescent

MLA

“rubescent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubescent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rubescent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubescent.

Source: rubescent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.