rud·dy

(rŭd′ē)

adj. rud·di·er, rud·di·est

a. Having a healthy, reddish color.

b. Reddish; rosy.

2. Chiefly British Slang Used as an intensive: "You ruddy liar!" (John Galsworthy).

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

rud′di·ly adv.

rud′di·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

ruddiness - a healthy reddish complexion

rosiness

complexion, skin color, skin colour - the coloring of a person's face

Translations

rossore

ruddiness

[ˈrʌdɪnɪs] N [of complexion] → rubicundez f; [of sky] → lo rojizo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ruddiness

n → Röte f; the ruddiness of his complexion → seine gesunde Gesichtsfarbe

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

These protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years.

View in context

But her brother was known by the style and title of Peony, on account of the ruddiness of his broad and round little phiz, which made everybody think of sunshine and great scarlet flowers.

View in context

It was not that he looked many years older, though still dressed with the old scrupulous cleanliness; or that there was an unwholesome ruddiness upon his face; or that his eyes were full and bloodshot; or that there was a nervous trembling in his hand, the cause of which I knew, and had for some years seen at work.

View in context

It throws its unobtrusive tinge throughout the room, with a faint ruddiness upon the walls and ceiling, and a reflected gleam upon the polish of the furniture.

View in context

(40) There is nothing in Nashe's (quite detailed) descriptions of Harvey to suggest that this ruddiness was one of his characteristics.

Underemployed Elizabethans: Gabriel Harvey and Thomas Nashe in the Parnassus Plays

No one else's came close to matching the expertly whittled piece of wood to which the youngster had attached his flag, the ruddiness of the apple that perched proudly at the stick's end, or the luminosity of the candle that flickered within.

Tiny Torahs for Simchat Torah

Its overall magnitude-4.5 glow has near its center the cluster's brightest star, a magnitude-6.9 star of definite ruddiness. As a whole, the cluster is circular with a diameter of about 38', but its brighter members form a butterfly pattern.

Colors and Clusters: You don't have to wait for summer nights to see a pleasingly colored double star

Camouflage any ruddiness in your skin (try a do-it-all compact) so the finished look feels intentional and bold, not blotchy.

Dawn of the Red

A complementary color to red shades, Greenery plays down ruddiness in the skin as well.

Garden variety: color cosmetics for Spring 2017 are inspired by the beauty of nature and new beginnings,

ruddiness or sallowness or even a grayness of countenance could be seen

Mr. Prynne