rosy
adjective
pink or pinkish-red; roseate.
rosy
1 American
[roh-zee]
/ ˈroʊ zi /
adjective
-
rosier,
comparative
-
rosiest
superlative
-
pink or pinkish-red; roseate.
-
(of persons, the cheeks, lips, etc.) having a fresh, healthy redness.
- Antonyms:
- pale
-
bright or promising.
a rosy future.
- Antonyms:
- unpromising
-
cheerful or optimistic.
rosy anticipations.
- Antonyms:
- cheerless
-
made or consisting of roses.
a rosy bower.
Rosy
2
American
[roh-zee]
/ ˈroʊ zi /
noun
rosy
British
/ ˈrəʊzɪ /
adjective
-
of the colour rose or pink
-
having a healthy pink complexion
rosy cheeks
-
optimistic, esp excessively so
a rosy view of social improvements
-
full of health, happiness, or joy
rosy slumbers
-
resembling, consisting of, or abounding in roses
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of rosy
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at rose 1, -y 1
Explanation
Use the adjective rosy to describe something that's healthy and pink, like a child's rosy cheeks or a rosy lipstick. A flushed face is rosy — it's the glowing pink color of a natural blush, and it implies good health. From this meaning comes the secondary one, "optimistic or lucky." If the future looks rosy to you, it appears that great things are going to happen, and if someone has a rosy nature, they're cheerful. Rosy is from rose and its Latin root, rosa.
Vocabulary lists containing rosy
Pink
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Excerpt from "The Little Mermaid"
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The World According to Humphrey
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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.
See Examples For:
If inflation is factored in, sales were not quite as rosy as they look.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The announcement shocked country fans who had followed the couple through podcast appearances and acceptance speeches that painted a rosy picture of the pair’s relationship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
"In Neapolitan culture, if a child is a little chubby with rosy cheeks, people often think they're healthy."
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Driven by rosy projections, Fiserv’s stock hit an all-time high in February 2025, when Bisignano told investors that the company was “all gas and no brake.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
We went in and found that every hiker for twenty miles was already there, several of them sitting around a wood stove eating chili or ice cream and looking rosy cheeked and warm and clean.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Adrian Aceves, a physician living in downtown Washington, said he'd be staying in with his five-year-old mutt Rosy, "trying to distract her with treats and toys, and I will medicate her."
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Rosy sentiment was further boosted by a detente in the US-China trade war, with top leaders agreeing Thursday to walk back punitive measures that had disrupted international supply chains and manufacturing sectors.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
Another piece, created by artist Rosy Cortez, who has been featured in several exhibitions, was purchased by an anonymous donor and added to the center’s permanent collection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2025
No one wanted to miss the show with Morello, so Rosy flew directly to L.A., and the group reconvened in a nearby rehearsal studio the day of the performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2025
Most of our conversation, instead, centered on Rosy Franklin.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
The selling began overnight in South Korea after chip giant Samsung Electronics’ rosy earnings outlook failed to meet investors’ even rosier expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Results for the most recent quarter were rosier by comparison.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
The film’s portrayal of The Jackson 5 years aims for even rosier nostalgia, evoking memories of hearing a young Michael’s voice, cascading over the radio waves and into the hearts of millions.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
Things have been looking a bit rosier lately.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
Nick Hammond, the classicist head tutor at Clare, painted a much rosier outlook for their foreign research students.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Anthropic doesn’t expect to spend nearly as much, but its rosiest forecasts tell a similar story of mounting computing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
Even the rosiest predictions show rivers like the Elwha and Dungeness will still only flow with around 80% of their normal water levels, said Brent Bower, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
But if the rosiest projections hold, green hydrogen in heavy industry could reduce global carbon emissions by at least 5 percent.
From New York Times ● Mar. 12, 2023
When West launched his Sunday Service campaign from a secretive Calabasas location in 2019, the backdrop wasn’t the rosiest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2022
She had two of the world’s rosiest, chubbiest cheeks, which no one could keep from touching.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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.
