incarnadine

[ in-kahr-nuh-dahyn, -din, -deen ]

adjective

1. blood-red; crimson.
2. flesh-colored; pale pink.

noun

1. an incarnadine color.

verb (used with object)

, in·car·na·dined, in·car·na·din·ing.

1. to make incarnadine.

incarnadine

/ ɪnˈkɑːnəˌdaɪn /

verb

1. tr to tinge or stain with red

adjective

1. of a pinkish or reddish colour similar to that of flesh or blood

Word History and Origins

Origin of incarnadine¹

1585–95; < Middle French, feminine of incarnadin flesh-colored < Italian incarnatino, equivalent to incarnat ( o ) made flesh ( incarnate ) + -ino -ine ¹; carnation

Word History and Origins

Origin of incarnadine¹

C16: from French incarnadin flesh-coloured, from Italian, from Late Latin incarnātus made flesh, incarnate

Example Sentences

Politicians in Washington are certainly amoral, but their hands are not merely unclean with dirt, but also incarnadined and besmirched with innocent blood.

From Washington Post

This from the latest serial killer—destined for the chair, they say—who, with incarnadine axe, recently dispatched half a dozen registered nurses in Texas.

From Literature

The result bore an uncanny resemblance to ham: the surface dark, the interior incarnadine, the flesh easy to cut into meaty slices.

From New York Times

That mouth has been incarnadined in the deepest red, so it seems to have an autonomous life that’s at odds with the cool, pale skin that surrounds it.

From New York Times

The Dunmore, rigged and coursed with smoke like some spirit vessel, cast volleys of flame through its entanglements of cloud, and all its gray was incarnadined with fire.

From Literature

Related Words

• glowing
• rose-colored