flushed

¹ American  

[fluhsht] / flʌʃt /

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.

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verb

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

flushed ² American  

[fluhsht] / flʌʃt /

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.

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verb

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

Etymology

Origin of flushed¹

First recorded in 1660–70; 1995–2000 flushed ¹ for def. 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

Explanation

When you're flushed, your cheeks are pink. You probably look flushed after your morning jog around the block. People become flushed from exercise, or cold weather, or embarrassment. Your flushed cheeks might give away the fact that you're nervous about your job interview or ashamed to be seen walking the dog in your pajamas. Little kids get flushed faces when they're sick, their cheeks bright and feverish. The verb flush originally meant "to fly up suddenly," and experts aren't sure how the "become red" meaning came about, although it may be a combination of flash and blush.

Example Sentences

When a toilet is flushed without a lid, it creates a "toilet plume" that releases tiny droplets into the air.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

Wright adopted Caravaggio’s lead white ground and midbrown overlay, as well as his flushed cheeks, pale necks and fleshy pink velvets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026

“Every single day I was on it, all day long,” the Chico, Calif., woman said Thursday, her voice tremulous and her cheeks flushed to the color of her rose maxi dress.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Elevated volume last week feels like weak shareholders have been flushed out and a fresh regime of new investors has emerged.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

Charles passed a hand over his damp, flushed forehead.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• embarrassed
• rosy