Adjacent Words

Bruise definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BRUISE, v.t. s as z. To crush by beating or pounding with an instrument not edged or pointed. When applied to animal flesh or to vegetables, a bruise is a contusion that impairs the natural solidity and texture of the part, but often without breaking the skin. When applied to minerals and similar substances, it signifies to break them, and often to reduce them to a coarse powder.
BRUISE, n. A contusion; a hurt upon the flesh of animals, upon plants or other bodies, with a blunt or heavy instrument.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an injury that doesn't break the skin but results in some discoloration [syn: bruise, contusion] v
1: injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of; "I bruised my knee" [syn: bruise, contuse]
2: hurt the feelings of; "She hurt me when she did not include me among her guests"; "This remark really bruised my ego" [syn: hurt, wound, injure, bruise, offend, spite]
3: break up into small pieces for food preparation; "bruise the berries with a wooden spoon and strain them"
4: damage (plant tissue) by abrasion or pressure; "The customer bruised the strawberries by squeezing them"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (bruised; bruising) Etymology: Middle English brusen, brisen, from Anglo-French & Old English; Anglo-French bruiser, briser to break, of Celtic origin; akin to Old Irish bruid he shatters; Old English bry?san to bruise; akin to Old Irish bruid, Latin frustum piece Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. archaic disable b. batter, dent 2. to inflict a bruise on ; contuse 3. to break down (as leaves or berries) by pounding ; crush 4. wound, injure; especially to inflict psychological hurt on <a bruised ego> intransitive verb 1. to inflict a bruise 2. to undergo bruising <her skin bruises easily> II. noun Date: 1541 1. a. an injury involving rupture of small blood vessels and discoloration without a break in the overlying skin ; contusion b. a similar injury to plant tissue 2. abrasion, scratch 3. an injury especially to the feelings

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an injury appearing as an area of discoloured skin on a human or animal body, caused by a blow or impact. 2 a similar area of damage on a fruit etc. --v. 1 tr. a inflict a bruise on. b hurt mentally. 2 intr. be susceptible to bruising. 3 tr. crush or pound. Etymology: ME f. OE brysan crush, reinforced by AF bruser, OF bruisier break

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bruise Bruise (br[udd]z), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bruised (br[udd]zd); p. pr. & vb. n. Bruising.] [OE. brusen, brisen, brosen, bresen, AS. br[=y]san or fr. OF. bruiser, bruisier, bruser, to break, shiver, perh. from OHG. brochis[=o]n. Cf. Break, v. t.] 1. To injure, as by a blow or collision, without laceration; to contuse; as, to bruise one's finger with a hammer; to bruise the bark of a tree with a stone; to bruise an apple by letting it fall. 2. To break; as in a mortar; to bray, as minerals, roots, etc.; to crush. Nor bruise her flowerets with the armed hoofs. --Shak. Syn: To pulverize; bray; triturate; pound; contuse.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bruise Bruise, v. i. To fight with the fists; to box. Bruising was considered a fine, manly, old English custom. --Thackeray.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bruise Bruise, n. An injury to the flesh of animals, or to plants, fruit, etc., with a blunt or heavy instrument, or by collision with some other body; a contusion; as, a bruise on the head; bruises on fruit. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises. --Isa. i. 6.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bruises, bruising, bruised) 1. A bruise is an injury which appears as a purple mark on your body, although the skin is not broken. How did you get that bruise on your cheek?... She was treated for cuts and bruises. N-COUNT 2. If you bruise a part of your body, a bruise appears on it, for example because something hits you. If you bruise easily, bruises appear when something hits you only slightly. I had only bruised my knee... Some people bruise more easily than others. VERB: V n, V adv • bruised I escaped with severely bruised legs. ADJ 3. If a fruit, vegetable, or plant bruises or is bruised, it is damaged by being handled roughly, making a mark on the skin. Choose a warm, dry day to cut them off the plants, being careful not to bruise them. ...bruised tomatoes and cucumbers... Be sure to store them carefully as they bruise easily. VERB: V n, V-ed, V adv, also V • Bruise is also a noun. ...bruises on the fruit's skin. N-COUNT 4. If you are bruised by an unpleasant experience, it makes you feel unhappy or upset. The government will be severely bruised by yesterday's events... VERB: usu passive, be V-ed • bruising ...the bruising experience of near-bankruptcy. ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Crush, squeeze, contuse. 2. Break, batter, pound, bray, pulverize, comminute, triturate, break to pieces. 3. Indent, batter, deface. II. n. Contusion.

Moby Thesaurus

abrasion, abuse, aggrieve, anguish, barb the dart, bash, batter, beat, beat up, black, black eye, black-and-blue mark, blemish, blotch, boo-boo, buffet, bump, bung, bung up, contuse, contusion, cut, cut up, damage, discolor, discoloration, discolorment, do violence to, do wrong by, do wrong to, ecchymosis, grieve, harm, hurt, hurt the feelings, ill-treat, ill-use, injure, injury, knock about, maltreat, manhandle, mark, mash, maul, mishandle, mistreat, molest, mouse, outrage, pain, pierce, pound, prick, pulp, rough, rough up, savage, scrape, scratch, shiner, spot, squash, stab, sting, thrash soundly, twist the knife, welt, wound