abloom

English

Etymology

a- (in) + bloom (flower)

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /əˈbluːm/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -uːm

Adverb

abloom (not comparable)

  1. (postpositive) In or into bloom; in a blooming state; having flower blooms unfolding. [Mid 19th century.][1]

Translations

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Adjective

abloom (comparative more abloom, superlative most abloom)

  1. Blooming; covered in flowers. [Mid 19th century.][1]
  2. (figuratively) Having something growing or grown.
    • 1900 January, Gregory Hartswick, “[Untitled]”, in St. Nicholas (magazine), volume 27, number 3, page 274:
      For Santa Claus comes / With reindeer and sleigh / To fill up the stockings on glad Christmas Day. / And there in the library / Stands a great tree / With gifts all abloom, most lovely to see!
    • 1902, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Under the Trees, page 62:
      Who does not feel the passage of divine dreams over his troubled life when the infinite meadows of heaven are suddenly abloom with light?
    • 1998, Tom Wolfe, chapter 15, in A Man in Full:
      He was abloom with heat and anxiety. The sweat underneath his arms had turned into an oily slick.
  3. Thriving in health, beauty, and vigor; exhibiting youth-like beauty.
    • 1987, Merrill J. Mattes, The Great Platte River Road, page 70:
      The Hollywood concept of clean-shaven, square-jawed young men and fragrant young ladies with cheeks abloom does not seem to square with the facts.
    • 1997, Ruth Langan, chapter 1, in Jade:
      When they returned, Jade's cheeks were abloom, her eyes alight with anticipation.

References

  1. Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abloom”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 5.

Anagrams

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