rubicund
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rubicund
1495–1505; < Latin rubicundus, akin to ruber red 1
Explanation
If you tend to have red, rosy cheeks, you can be described as rubicund. An entire kindergarten class might be rubicund after an hour spent running around the playground. The adjective rubicund is a slightly old-fashioned way to describe someone who's ruddy-cheeked or who flushes easily. Your rubicund face might be evidence of the long hike you took earlier, or possibly give away your embarrassment at being unprepared for the speech you're about to give. The word comes from the Latin rubicundus, with its roots of rubere, "to be red," and ruber, "red."
Vocabulary lists containing rubicund
"The Monkey's Paw," Vocabulary from the short story
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs
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"Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving
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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.
Rubicund Senator McKellar of Tennessee complained loudly that a onetime Shipping Board official, Joseph Edward Sheedy, was in shameful cahoots with Mr. Chapman.
From Time Magazine Archive
Rubicund apples, splendid game, truffles, and ortolans, deck the one side; smoke, dirty plates, rags, and smutty saucepans may be seen on the other.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, July, 1850. by Various
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.
