roseate
Americanadjective
-
tinged with rose; rosy.
a roseate dawn.
-
bright or promising.
a roseate future.
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incautiously optimistic.
a roseate forecast for holiday sales.
adjective
-
of the colour rose or pink
-
excessively or idealistically optimistic
Other Word Forms
- roseately adverb
Etymology
Origin of roseate
1580–90; < Latin rose ( us ) rose-colored + -ate 1
Explanation
As its sound might suggest, roseate has to do with "rosy." Anything that's roseate is rose colored or pinkish. It's often used in the term "roseate glow," typically to describe a sunset. Ever heard of the phrase "seeing life through rose tinted glasses," meaning seeing life way too optimistically and unrealistically? Well, roseate can have that sense as well. If you're painting "too roseate" a picture of what college is like to your parents, you're either deliberately or unintentionally giving them a picture that's a bit too good to be true.
Vocabulary lists containing roseate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Pink
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"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
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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.
The Franco-Belgian couturier referenced the extravagant plumage of a roseate spoonbill or the crested cockatoo alongside the humble crow, grey pigeon and magpie.
From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026
About 108 pairs of roseate terns returned and, although many chicks were found to have died within their nest boxes, some fledged roseate terns have been ringed so their survival can be monitored.
From BBC • Aug. 3, 2023
The last time a roseate spoonbill was seen in Wisconsin was in 1845, and that bird was dead.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 3, 2023
In the grass were the remains of Arctic terns, common terns, and roseate terns.
From Salon • Jan. 7, 2022
He rode along with delight blossoming in him like a roseate flower, listening.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
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.
