flushed

¹

[ fluhsht ]

adjective

1. having rosy or reddish skin as a result of exertion, cold, embarrassment, fever, etc.:

   Common food allergy symptoms include a flushed face, hives, or a red and itchy rash around the mouth or eyes.

2. flooded or sprayed thoroughly with water, as for cleansing:

   Next, disinfect the flushed wound with hydrogen peroxide.

   Before adding antifreeze to a freshly flushed cooling system, drain the radiator of water and close the petcock.

3. (of a sewer, toilet, etc.) washed out by a sudden rush of water:

   Parts of the secret document were found by a lab technician in an improperly flushed toilet.

4. having been rushed through a toilet, sewer, etc., along with water in the course of washing it out:

   The plumber told us that the cause of our slow drain was a flushed sock.

5. animated, excited, or inflamed:

   I walked away from the conversation with a flushed sense of power.

6. Computers.
   1. (of a buffer, cache, hard drive, etc.) emptied by deleting the data or transferring it to permanent storage:

      The commit-to-disk feature ensures that the data from a flushed buffer is not lost in the event of a system failure.

   2. (of data) deleted or transferred to more permanent storage:

      If needed again, the flushed data can be found and reloaded from the cloud storage system.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of flush ¹.

flushed

²

[ fluhsht ]

adjective

1. (of a game bird or other animal) driven from cover so that it flies up or springs forth suddenly; roused:

   Jim’s shot brought down the flushed pheasant before anyone else could get a shot off.

2. (of a person) forced out of hiding:

   The snipers focused on breaks in the foliage where a flushed fugitive might be revealed.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of flush ³.

Word History and Origins

Origin of flushed¹

First recorded in 1660–70; 1995–2000 flushed ¹fordef 6; flush ¹( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; flush ¹( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Origin of flushed²

First recorded in 1875–80; flush ³( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; flush ³( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Then she lifts and lowers the weight very slowly until her cheeks are flushed pink.

From Los Angeles Times

On the two-point try from the 10-yard line, Helmar was flushed from the pocket and her hurried throw was high over the outstretched arms of Michel in the end zone, leaving the Sailors behind by two with 1:22 left.

From Los Angeles Times

But don’t count me among the teary-eyed hand-wringers who wonder how the country I love so much has been flushed down the toilet.

From Salon

We got flushed when the Supreme Court gave presidents full immunity for “official” actions only the justices on the court can sanction.

From Salon

The rest ends up being incinerated, sent to landfills, or discarded on the landscape, where they are often flushed into rivers or out to sea.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• embarrassed
• rosy