bruise

/bruz/

/bruz/

Other forms: bruised; bruises; bruising

If you're just learning to skateboard, you’ve probably got an ugly bruise or two to show for it — those purple and yellow patches you get on your skin where you’ve bumped and scraped. They probably hurt, too!

You can find bruises at the grocery store, too — those soft, mushy spots on a peach or an apple — and if you drop a tomato, you're likely to bruise it. You can bruise your knee or bruise someone's feelings — if you tell your friend you don't like her novel, you’ll bruise her ego.

Definitions of bruise

1. noun

   an injury that doesn't break the skin but results in some discoloration
   synonyms: contusion

   types:

   ecchymosis

   the purple or black-and-blue area resulting from a bruise

   petechia

   a minute red or purple spot on the surface of the skin as the result of tiny hemorrhages of blood vessels in the skin (as in typhoid fever)

   black eye, mouse, shiner

   a swollen bruise caused by a blow to the eye

   type of:

   harm, hurt, injury, trauma

   any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
2. verb

   injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of
   “I bruised my knee”

   synonyms: contuse

   types:

   crush, jam

   crush or bruise

   type of:

   injure, wound

   cause injuries or bodily harm to
3. verb

   hurt the feelings of
   “This remark really bruised my ego”

   synonyms: hurt, injure, offend, spite, wound

   types:

   affront, diss, insult

   treat, mention, or speak to rudely

   lacerate

   deeply hurt the feelings of; distress

   sting

   cause an emotional pain, as if by stinging

   abase, chagrin, humble, humiliate, mortify

   cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of

   crush, demolish, smash

   humiliate or depress completely

   degrade, demean, disgrace, put down, take down

   reduce in worth or character, usually verbally

   type of:

   arouse, elicit, enkindle, evoke, fire, kindle, pique, provoke, raise

   call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
4. verb

   damage (plant tissue) by abrasion or pressure
   “The customer bruised the strawberries by squeezing them”

   type of:

   damage

   inflict damage upon
5. verb

   break up into small pieces for food preparation
   “bruise the berries with a wooden spoon and strain them”

   type of:

   crush

   break into small pieces