rosy
1 Americanadjective
-
pink or pinkish-red; roseate.
-
(of persons, the cheeks, lips, etc.) having a fresh, healthy redness.
- Antonyms:
- pale
-
bright or promising.
a rosy future.
- Antonyms:
- unpromising
-
cheerful or optimistic.
rosy anticipations.
- Antonyms:
- cheerless
-
made or consisting of roses.
a rosy bower.
noun
adjective
-
of the colour rose or pink
-
having a healthy pink complexion
rosy cheeks
-
optimistic, esp excessively so
a rosy view of social improvements
-
full of health, happiness, or joy
rosy slumbers
-
resembling, consisting of, or abounding in roses
Other Word Forms
- rosily adverb
- rosiness noun
Etymology
Origin of rosy
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at rose 1, -y 1
Explanation
Use the adjective rosy to describe something that's healthy and pink, like a child's rosy cheeks or a rosy lipstick. A flushed face is rosy — it's the glowing pink color of a natural blush, and it implies good health. From this meaning comes the secondary one, "optimistic or lucky." If the future looks rosy to you, it appears that great things are going to happen, and if someone has a rosy nature, they're cheerful. Rosy is from rose and its Latin root, rosa.
Vocabulary lists containing rosy
Pink
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Excerpt from "The Little Mermaid"
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The World According to Humphrey
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A recession, of course, could reverse this rosy outlook.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
Elon Musk’s rosy predictions for robotics could also come on a longer timescale than currently anticipated, they write, noting that earlier ambitious longer-term projections for vehicle sales and robotaxis have not been met.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
As with all Labor Department reports, the rosy top-line numbers require the context of their underlying trends—and those aren’t looking so pretty.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026
Even without that rosy scenario, traders can already see some light at the end of the tunnel.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
We arrived at the great city of Washington just as dawn was turning the sky a rosy gold.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
