blooming

[bloo-ming]

adjective

1. in bloom; flowering; blossoming.

2. glowing, as with youthful vigor and freshness.

   blooming cheeks.

3. flourishing; prospering.

   a blooming business.

4. Chiefly British Slang.,  (used as an intensifier).

   He's got his blooming nerve.

adverb

1. Chiefly British Slang.,  (used as an intensifier).

   not blooming likely.

blooming

/ ˈbluːmɪŋ /

adverb

1. informal,  (intensifier)

   a blooming genius

   blooming painful

Other Word Forms

• bloomingly adverb
• bloomingness noun
• nonblooming adjective
• preblooming adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of blooming¹

1350–1400; Middle English; bloom ¹, -ing ²; as intensifier, a euphemism for bloody, by phonetic similarity

Word History and Origins

Origin of blooming¹

C19: euphemistic for _bloody

Example Sentences

“Certain plants will start to dominate a certain area, and some will be surviving and maybe blooming a little more,” Koons said.

From Los Angeles Times

She posted snaps of quaint scenes of calm skies, golden sunsets and blooming flowers.

From Los Angeles Times

Atmosphere is everything here: Two of the soon-to-be-released tracks border on ambient, zeroing in on the sounds of church bells and chirping birds and the expansive feeling of mushrooms blooming across a forest floor.

From Los Angeles Times

A blooming pink jasmine frames the porch, and a quick-growing Sierra fig tree they got from the city for free will soon provide shade and fruit at the northeast edge of the frontyard.

From Los Angeles Times

Past a blooming gold medallion tree, and and at the end of a path of spaced concrete tiles, there’s a shed with a seafoam-green door that houses the heart of his life’s work.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• budding 
• flourishing