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Synonyms

puce

American  
[pyoos] / pyus /

adjective

  1. of a dark or brownish purple.


noun

  1. a dark or brownish purple.

puce British  
/ pjuːs /

noun

    1. a colour varying from deep red to dark purplish-brown

    2. ( as adjective )

      a puce carpet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of puce

1780–90; < French: literally, flea < Latin pūlic-, stem of pūlex

Vocabulary lists containing puce

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.

At 6:38 a.m. on Tuesday, Piers Morgan, his face puce and contorted with anger, stormed off the set of his own live breakfast show, seemingly forever.

From Slate • Mar. 12, 2021

Her apartment is immaculate, decorated in shades of puce and lemon-yellow.

From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2017

Glazes are often brash and runny, chartreuse entwined with grape or puce with orange and off-white.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2015

He returned puce with anger, pickling in his own disappointment.

From The Guardian • Aug. 14, 2015

Uncle Vernon stopped, his fist still raised, his face an ugly puce.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

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