redden
Americanverb (used with object)
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reddens,
present (3rd person singular)
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reddened,
past participle, past
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reddening
present participle
verb (used without object)
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reddens,
present (3rd person singular)
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reddened,
past participle, past
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reddening
present participle
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to become red.
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to blush; flush.
verb
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to make or become red
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(intr) to flush with embarrassment, anger, etc; blush
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reddensimple
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reddenssimple
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have reddenedperfect
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has reddenedperfect
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am reddeningprogressive
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are reddeningprogressive
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is reddeningprogressive
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have been reddeningperfect progressive
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has been reddeningperfect progressive
Past
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reddenedsimple
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had reddenedperfect
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was reddeningprogressive
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were reddeningprogressive
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had been reddeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of redden
Explanation
When something reddens, its color changes so that it looks red. In autumn, the leaves on some trees redden before they fall to the ground. If the sky reddens at dusk, you might remember the rhyme "red sky at night, sailor's delight." Pale people redden too, when they blush or flush with embarrassment. A child coloring a picture with crayons might redden the sky and shade the trees blue and purple. The Old English root, meaning "become red," is readian.
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:
Ever wondered why your cheeks redden when all eyes are on you?
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2024
From its color, Ellis and his colleagues knew at least some of its stars were mature, because they tend to redden with age.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 30, 2022
This is the guy whose face tends to redden after a stray shot?
From Washington Post ● Aug. 25, 2021
Recounting this, Gadsby’s eyes redden; her voice is loud and breaking.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 28, 2018
Her cheeks redden, and her normally cocky voice comes out shaky and uncertain.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
I suspect the raw, honest anger that reddens her eyes comes from a place of knowing and experience.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2023
He explained he takes antibiotics every day as he has rosacea, which reddens and can deform the face.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2022
Ceylon has a yellow perianth with a rich orange cup that reddens over the blooming period.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2021
Why couldn’t it be the interstellar gas that reddens distant stars and not the dust?
From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016
His face reddens to a deep crimson, the veins on his neck taut like wires pulled too tight.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
The heat from the fire melted the paint on some helmets and reddened the skin in the small gaps between the masks, Marchuk said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
As blood trickled from the champion's nose and reddened his mouth, Figueroa continued to press and appeared the fresher man at the halfway mark.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
The silhouette then burst into a reddened field of 20 silhouettes throughout the arena.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
These analyses revealed that reddened cells not only had a high concentration of diadinoxanthin, the most abundant carotenoid in E. gracilis, but also produced an unidentified xanthophyll-type carotenoid.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2024
She paused, and her hands gripped the wooden arms of the chair, grasping them so tightly her knuckles first reddened, then went white.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
He repeated the claim over and over, reddening and breaking into a sweat.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Officers said they have identified a person of interest who is believed to be mixed race, aged in their 20s to 30s and had brown eyes which showed signs of reddening.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2025
Interestingly, the researchers found that strong red-light irradiation at 605-660 nm triggered a reddening reaction in E. gracilis when cultured in bonito stock.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2024
Saban said, clicking his teeth and looking away with reddening eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
I looked at him, his face reddening, as I tried to get my bearings.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
