ruddy

«ruddy» in Mova's school dictionary: healthy and red or pink, often from being outdoors — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (ruddy, ruddier, ruddiest); adverb (ruddy — UK, informal)

meaning for a pupil

1) A ruddy face is healthy and red or pink, often from being outdoors. tree →

2) Ruddy can mean reddish in colour. tree →

3) (UK, mild swearing, old-fashioned) Ruddy is a softer word for «bloody», used to show annoyance or for emphasis. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories a farmer or sailor has «ruddy cheeks» from wind and sun. In UK everyday talk, older people may say «the ruddy car won't start» when cross; it is a mild word, a polite replacement for a ruder one. Phrases: ruddy cheeks, ruddy complexion, ruddy hell (UK, mild).

examples

• The fisherman had a ruddy face from the sea wind. tree →
• Her cheeks were ruddy after the snowball fight. tree →
• The sky had a ruddy glow at sunset. tree →
• This ruddy printer has jammed again! (UK, mild swearing) tree →
• Grandad said, «It's ruddy freezing out there!» (UK) tree →
• The ruddy fox crept across the field. tree →
• Rudy turned round, and beheld a man with a ruddy, pleasant face, and a stout figure. tree →

note

Adjective forms: ruddier, ruddiest. The swearing sense is mild and old-fashioned, a euphemism for «bloody»; it is still better not used in class. The colour sense is not rude at all.

In the corpora

• "Ruddy" is an old-fashioned British stand-in for "bloody".
• And the first came forth ruddy, all over like a hairy mantle; and they called his name Esau.
• Now he was ruddy, and withal of beautiful eyes, and goodly to look upon.
• 'My beloved is white and ruddy, pre-eminent above ten thousand.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «ruddy» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.