blanched
Học thuậtThân thiện
The gardener noticed the blanched celery stalks in the dark corner of the shed.
Definition
- Adjective:
- Made white or pale, especially by removing color or by illness/emotion: Describes something that has lost its natural color, becoming pale or white, often due to shock, fear, illness, or a specific process.
- (Botany) Developed without chlorophyll due to lack of light: Describes plants that have grown pale and weak because they were deprived of sunlight, resulting in a lack of green pigment.
Usage Examples
- Adjective (Pale from emotion/illness):
- Her face was blanched with terror when she heard the news.
- The patient's blanched skin was a sign of severe anemia.
- Adjective (Botany/Process):
- The gardener grew blanched celery by covering the stalks with soil to block sunlight.
- The lack of light in the cellar caused the potatoes to become blanched and sprout pale shoots.
Advanced Usage
- Culinary Context: While not the primary definition, in cooking, "to blanch" is a verb meaning to briefly scald food in boiling water, often to loosen skins or preserve color. The adjective "blanched" can describe food treated this way.
- Add the blanched almonds to the salad.
- Figurative Use: Can describe something that has lost its vitality, force, or distinct character.
- The report was a blanched version of the original, stripped of all critical findings.
Variants and Related Words
- Blanch (verb): To make white or pale; to scald briefly.
- The shocking accusation made him blanch.
- Remember to blanch the tomatoes before peeling them.
- Bleached (adj): Made white or lighter by a chemical process or sunlight. (Often implies an agent was used, while "blanched" often implies a natural reaction).
- Etiolated (adj): (Botany) Specifically describes a plant grown in partial or complete absence of light, resulting in a pale, elongated, and weak form. A technical synonym for the botanical sense of "blanched."
Synonyms
- Pale: Lacking intensity of color.
- Ashen: Of the pale gray color of ash; especially referring to a face.
- Wan: Pale and giving the impression of illness or exhaustion.
- Pallid: Abnormally pale, often suggesting poor health.
- Bloodless: Lacking blood or color; pale.
Antonyms
- Ruddy: Having a healthy red color.
- Florid: Having a red or flushed complexion.
- Flushed: Red and hot, typically as a result of illness or strong emotion.
- Rosy: Having a pinkish-red, healthy color.
Related Phrases/Idioms
- To blanch at something: To react with shock or fear that causes one to become pale. This phrasal use derives directly from the verb.
- Even seasoned detectives blanched at the gruesome scene.
The gardener noticed the blanched celery stalks in the dark corner of the shed.
Adjective
- (especially of plants) developed without chlorophyll by being deprived of light
- etiolated celery
- anemic looking from illness or emotion
- a face turned ashen
- the invalid's blanched cheeks
- tried to speak with bloodless lips
- a face livid with shock
- lips...livid with the hue of death- Mary W. Shelley
- lips white with terror
- a face white with rage