bruise
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bruise
- /bɹuːz/ UK
- /bɹʉwz/ British, Southern, Standard
- /bɹuz/ US
- /bɹʉːz/ Australia, New Zealand
- /bɾɪu̯z/ Wales
- /bɾʉz/ Scotland
- [bɾʉːz] Scotland
- /bɻʉz/ Northern Ireland
Sounds like brews · Rhymes with -uːz
Where it comes from
From Middle English bruisen, brusen, brosen, brisen, bresen, from a merger two words, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to break”):
* Old English brȳsan, brīesan (“to bruise; crush”), from Proto-Germanic *brausijaną, *brūsijaną (“to break; crumble; crack”). Provided the word's sense.
* Anglo-Norman bruiser, bruser (“to break, smash, shatter”), from Gaulish *brus-, from Proto-Celtic *bruseti (“to break”). Provided the word's form.
Cognate with Scots brizz, German brausen (“to roar; boom; pound”), Old English brosnian (“to crumble, fall apart”), Dutch broos (“brittle”), German Brosame (“crumb”), dialectal Norwegian brøysk (“breakable”), Latin frustum (“bit, scrap”), Old Church Slavonic бръснути (brŭsnuti, “to rake”), Albanian breshër (“hail”).
verb bruises · bruising · bruised · bruize · brise
- To strike (a person), originally with something flat or heavy, but now specifically in such a way as to discolour the skin without breaking it; to contuse. It is as I have spoken: the testing first, next the bruising, and in the last bout the breaking and killing.
- To damage the skin of (fruit or vegetables), in an analogous way.
- Of fruit or vegetables, to gain bruises through being handled roughly. Bananas bruise easily.
- To become bruised. I bruise easily.
- To fight with the fists; to box. Bruising was considered a fine, manly, old English custom.
- To harm or injure somebody's feelings or self-esteem. Her thoughtless remarks bruised my ego.
- To impair (gin) by shaking rather than stirring.
noun bruises · bruize · brise
- A purplish mark on the skin due to leakage of blood from capillaries under the surface that have been damaged by a blow.
- A dark mark on fruit or vegetables caused by a blow to the surface.
Similar: contusion
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: contusion, contuse, wound, bulge, abrasion, graze, lump, scratch, hump, humpback, scrape, dent, brand, wounded, concussion, injury
noun
Similar: contusion
Translations
Every language
verb strike (a person), giving them a bruise
| Español | magullar, contusionar, moretear, macar (disused), mallugar |
|---|---|
| Português | magoar, ferir |
| Français | contusionner, meurtrir |
| Deutsch | prellen |
| Italiano | creare un livido |
| Română | zgâria, învineți |
| Русский | ушиба́ть ušibátʹ, ушиби́ть ušibítʹ |
| العربية | كَدَمَ kadama |
verb cause fruit or vegetables to bruise
| Español | mazar, magullar, machacar |
|---|---|
| Français | taler, cotir |
| Русский | мять mjatʹ, помя́ть pomjátʹ |
verb of fruit or vegetables, to gain bruises
| Español | macarse, estropearse, magullarse |
|---|---|
| Français | se taler, se cotir, s'abîmer |
| Română | se păta |
| Русский | мя́ться mjátʹsja, помя́ться pomjátʹsja |
verb to get bruised
| Español | magullarse, salirse moratones, amoratarse |
|---|---|
| Français | se faire un bleu |
| Ελληνικά | μωλωπίζομαι molopízomai |
| Русский | ушиба́ться ušibátʹsja, ушиби́ться ušibítʹsja |
noun medical: mark on the skin
| Español | moratón, moretón, cardenal, magulladura, hematoma, moradura |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 멍 meong |
| 日本語 | あざ aza |
| 中文 | 瘀青 yūqīng |
| Kiswahili | chubuko |
| Português | hematoma, roxo |
| Français | bleu, contusion, ecchymose, meurtrissure |
| Deutsch | Prellung, Bluterguss, blauer Fleck |
| Italiano | livido |
| Ελληνικά | μώλωπας mólopas |
| Română | julitură, vânătaie |
| Русский | ссадина ssadina, синя́к sinják, уши́б ušíb, кровоподтёк krovopodtjók, гемато́ма gematóma |
| العربية | كَدْمَة kadma, رَضّ raḍḍ, رَضَّة raḍḍa |
| עברית | חַבּוּרָה khabura |
noun mark on fruit or vegetable
| Español | maca, magullamiento |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 멍 meong |
| Français | talure, cotissure, meurtrissure |
| Deutsch | Druckstelle |
| Italiano | ammaccatura |
| Română | pată |
| Русский | поби́тость pobítostʹ, помя́тость pomjátostʹ, подби́тость podbítostʹ |
Talk about this word "bruise." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bruise. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bruise. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bruise "bruise." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bruise.Cite this
@misc{bruise_2026,
title = {bruise},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bruise},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
