blanch

¹

[ blanch, blahnch ]

verb (used with object)

1. to whiten by removing color; bleach:

   Workers were blanching linen in the sun.

2. Cooking.
   1. to scald briefly and then drain, as peaches or almonds to facilitate removal of skins, or as rice or macaroni to separate the grains or strands.
   2. to scald or parboil (meat or vegetables) so as to whiten, remove the odor, prepare for cooking by other means, etc.
3. Horticulture. (of the stems or leaves of plants, as celery or leeks) to whiten or prevent from becoming green by excluding light.
4. Metallurgy.
   1. to give a white luster to (metals), as by means of acids.
   2. to coat (sheet metal) with tin.
5. to make pale, as with sickness or fear:

   The long illness had blanched her cheeks of their natural color.

verb (used without object)

1. to become white; turn pale:

   The very thought of going made him blanch.

blanch

²

[ blanch, blahnch ]

verb (used with object)

1. to force back or to one side; head off, as a deer or other quarry.

blanch

/ blɑːntʃ /

verb

1. also intr to remove colour from, or (of colour) to be removed; whiten; fade

   the sun blanched the carpet

   over the years the painting blanched

2. usually intr to become or cause to become pale, as with sickness or fear
3. to plunge tomatoes, nuts, etc, into boiling water to loosen the skin
4. to plunge (meat, green vegetables, etc) in boiling water or bring to the boil in water in order to whiten, preserve the natural colour, or reduce or remove a bitter or salty taste
5. to cause (celery, chicory, etc) to grow free of chlorophyll by the exclusion of sunlight
6. metallurgy to whiten (a metal), usually by treating it with an acid or by coating it with tin
7. tr,usually foll byover to attempt to conceal something

Other Words From

• blanch·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of blanch¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bla(u)nchen, from Anglo-French, Middle French blanchir “to whiten,” derivative of blanc, blanche “white”; blank

Origin of blanch²

First recorded in 1565–75; variant of blench ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of blanch¹

C14: from Old French blanchir from blanc white; see blank

Synonym Study

See whiten.

Example Sentences

These are defendants that might not blanch at the cost of defending what might be a frivolous lawsuit, but at some level it seems to have made them nervous: The federation said last week that it is “discontinuing” the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.

From Los Angeles Times

Combining genre conventions, topical plots and absurdist humor, the series has embraced aesthetic risks that would make most “prestige” dramas blanch, with crucial scenes unfolding inside an “Animal Crossing”-like game and a near-silent episode set at an upstate New York monastery; and deftly handled such thorny subjects as medical racism, labor exploitation and the scourge of social media.

From Los Angeles Times

Western Australia Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the boy killed in Perth had been a voluntary participant of the federally funded Countering Violent Extremism program since 2022 when he caused an explosion at a toilet at the Rossmoyne Senior High School, which he attended.

From Seattle Times

“To be in a CVE program automatically says that we have concerns about his behavior and his thinking,” Blanch told Perth Radio 6PR.

From Seattle Times

“This is really important and it is highly successful but, sadly, it’s not perfect,” Blanch added.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• flinch
• recoil
• wince