Definition

Noun 1. A cosmetic, typically a pink or red powder or cream, applied to the cheeks to give them a rosy color or to accentuate the cheekbones. 2. A type of edible mushroom (Amanita rubescens) with a yellowish to pinkish cap that often bruises or turns reddish when touched or cut.

Usage and Examples

• Noun (Cosmetic):
  • She applied a light dusting of blusher to add a healthy glow to her complexion.
  • For a natural look, choose a blusher that matches the color your cheeks turn when you pinch them.
• Noun (Mushroom):
  • While foraging, they identified the blusher by its characteristic reddening where it was bruised.
  • It is crucial to distinguish the edible blusher from its poisonous look-alikes.

Advanced Usage

• The term is most commonly used in its cosmetic sense in everyday language.
• In mycology (the study of fungi), the full scientific name or the common name "the blusher" is used to avoid confusion.

Variants and Related Words

• Blush (noun/verb): As a noun, it can be synonymous with blusher (e.g., "a cream blush"). As a verb, it means to become red in the face, typically from embarrassment or modesty.
• Rouge (noun): An older term for a red cosmetic for coloring the cheeks; essentially a synonym for blusher.

Synonyms

• For the cosmetic: Rouge, cheek color, cheek tint.
• For the mushroom: .

Notes on Different Meanings

The two meanings are entirely distinct and belong to different semantic fields (cosmetics vs. mycology). Context always makes clear which is intended. The cosmetic meaning is vastly more common in general usage.

Noun

1. makeup consisting of a pink or red powder applied to the cheeks
2. yellowish edible agaric that usually turns red when touched