rouge

IPA/ruːʒ/
KK[rˈuʒ]IPA/ruːʒ/

rouge — noun

1. a cosmetic face product in powder form, usually red or pink, that you put on you

1.nounB2
Definition

a cosmetic face product in powder form, usually red or pink, that you put on your cheeks to give your skin a rosier look

Example

Mira put a little pink rouge on her cheeks before the school party.

put rouge on cheeks — basic usage pattern

Grandma showed me her old tin of French rouge from the 1950s.

Common collocations
  • apply rouge
  • a touch of rouge
  • a dusting of rouge
  • a tin of rouge
Synonyms
  • blush

    the modern, everyday term for the same cosmetic product

  • cheek colour

    more descriptive, often used in product names

Grammar Patterns

apply rouge to [body part]

a [adjective] shade of rouge

Usage Note

Now considered old-fashioned in everyday English; most modern speakers use blush instead. Common in historical fiction, classic beauty writing, and vintage fashion references.

Common Mistakes

She put rouge on her lips.
She put rouge on her cheeks.
Rouge is specifically for the cheeks, not the lips.

rouge — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Rouge, blush, and cheek colour all refer to cosmetic products for adding colour to the cheeks, but they differ in how current the word feels. Rouge is the oldest term, common in English from the 1700s through the mid-1900s. Today it sounds old-fashioned or literary — you would use it when describing historical fashion or reading a classic novel. Blush is the modern, everyday word for the same product; it replaced rouge in most stores and conversations by the 1980s. Cheek colour is a broader retail category that includes liquids, creams, and stains as well as powders. Powder is a more general term that covers face powders, setting powders, and body powders, not just cheek products. For example: 'She dusted a soft pink blush across her cheeks' sounds natural today, whereas 'She applied rouge to her cheeks' sounds like a line from a period drama.

blush ↗cheek colourpowder ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • a touch of
  • a dusting of
  • a pot of
  • a tin of

Adverbs

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Rouge was borrowed from French in the late Middle Ages, where rouge simply means 'red'. The word originally described any red colouring, but by the 1700s it had become the standard English term for the red cosmetic powder used on the cheeks. French traces back to Latin rubeus, meaning 'red'.