roseate
Americanadjective
-
tinged with rose; rosy.
a roseate dawn.
-
bright or promising.
a roseate future.
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incautiously optimistic.
a roseate forecast for holiday sales.
adjective
-
of the colour rose or pink
-
excessively or idealistically optimistic
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of roseate
1580–90; < Latin rose ( us ) rose-colored + -ate 1
Explanation
As its sound might suggest, roseate has to do with "rosy." Anything that's roseate is rose colored or pinkish. It's often used in the term "roseate glow," typically to describe a sunset. Ever heard of the phrase "seeing life through rose tinted glasses," meaning seeing life way too optimistically and unrealistically? Well, roseate can have that sense as well. If you're painting "too roseate" a picture of what college is like to your parents, you're either deliberately or unintentionally giving them a picture that's a bit too good to be true.
Vocabulary lists containing roseate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Pink
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"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Franco-Belgian couturier referenced the extravagant plumage of a roseate spoonbill or the crested cockatoo alongside the humble crow, grey pigeon and magpie.
From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026
Since bird flu was confirmed in June, black-headed gulls, common terns and rare roseate terns have been worst hit.
From BBC • Aug. 3, 2023
Six types of spoonbills are found around the world but only the roseate is present in North America.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 3, 2023
In the grass were the remains of Arctic terns, common terns, and roseate terns.
From Salon • Jan. 7, 2022
Its nest, its pallet, was of every kind of precious feather— Of lovely cotinga feathers, roseate spoonbill feathers, quetzal feathers.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
