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:
ASM International ASM -8.12%decrease; red down pointing triangle shares plunged after a boost to revenue guidance for next year came short of rosy forecasts, as investor expectations for companies exposed to artificial intelligence keep growing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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
A rosy 2024 report projected the World Cup could bring hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs to the L.A. region as 180,000 people converge on the area to sleep, eat and spend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The U.S. is experiencing an impressive stretch of low unemployment, which gives the labor market a rosy hue to outside observers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Dawn was spreading her rosy fingers in the sky when Sean finished twenty of the smallest, neatest, most careful stitches his big fingers could manage, would ever manage.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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
In “Scarpetta,” premiering Wednesday, the forensic medical examiner is played by both Nicole Kidman and Rosy McEwen, who skillfully solve murder mysteries across two timelines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 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
Rosy projections of a robust recovery this year have not materialized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2025
It took, however, only a few minutes of listening to Rosy to realize that her determined mind had set upon a different course of action.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
The Prologue was announced in late 2022, when optimism around EVs was considerably rosier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Previously, Goldberg wanted to see how AMD would do with the ramp of its MI450 graphics processing unit before taking a rosier view of the stock.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 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 were far rosier in the red half of north London in 1998.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
I heard my dad on the phone saying that the hospital bills were running about $2,000 a night, so I knew our financial picture wasn’t getting any rosier.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
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
Investors are betting that the U.S. economy will pull off the rosiest of outcomes: a soft-landing and cheaper borrowing costs.
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
That was perhaps the rosiest take given for this story, but Judge hit on a theme repeated by several other players: the Mariners’ talented young core.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 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
But when telling Augustus Waters, I painted the rosiest possible picture, embellishing the miraculousness of the miracle.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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.
