BRUISE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bruise mean? 

• BRUISE (noun)
  The noun BRUISE has 1 sense:

1. an injury that doesn't break the skin but results in some discoloration

  Familiarity information: BRUISE used as a noun is very rare.

• BRUISE (verb)
  The verb BRUISE has 4 senses:

1. injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of

2. hurt the feelings of

3. break up into small pieces for food preparation

4. damage (plant tissue) by abrasion or pressure

  Familiarity information: BRUISE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BRUISE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An injury that doesn't break the skin but results in some discoloration

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

bruise; contusion

Hypernyms ("bruise" is a kind of...):

harm; hurt; injury; trauma (any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bruise"):

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)

Derivation:

bruise (injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of)

• BRUISE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they bruise    ... he / she / it bruises   
Past simple: bruised   
Past participle: bruised   
-ing form: bruising   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

bruise; contuse

Context example:

I bruised my knee

Hypernyms (to "bruise" is one way to...):

injure; wound (cause injuries or bodily harm to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bruise"):

crush; jam (crush or bruise)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Did he bruise his foot?

Derivation:

bruise (an injury that doesn't break the skin but results in some discoloration)

bruiser (a large and strong and heavyset man)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hurt the feelings of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

bruise; hurt; injure; offend; spite; wound

Context example:

This remark really bruised my ego

Hypernyms (to "bruise" is one way to...):

arouse; elicit; enkindle; evoke; fire; kindle; provoke; raise (call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bruise"):

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)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Break up into small pieces for food preparation

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

bruise the berries with a wooden spoon and strain them

Hypernyms (to "bruise" is one way to...):

crush (break into small pieces)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Damage (plant tissue) by abrasion or pressure

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The customer bruised the strawberries by squeezing them

Hypernyms (to "bruise" is one way to...):

damage (inflict damage upon)

Domain category:

flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

Bruises are often painful and swollen.

(Bruises, NIH)

The most common side effects are pain, swelling, or bruising at the injection site.

(Botox, NIH)

A bruise is bleeding under the skin.

(Bleeding, NIH)

Yet I was so weak and bruised in the sides with the squeezes given me by this odious animal, that I was forced to keep my bed a fortnight.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

He had been dead some days, but there was no wound or bruise upon his person to show how he had met his dreadful end.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Clinical signs include recurrent, spontaneous or post-traumatic bruising of fingers.

(Achenbach Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

Clinical manifestations include truncal obesity with thin extremities, thinning of the skin, osteoporosis, and a tendency to bruise easily.

(ACTH-Producing Pituitary Gland Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Clinical signs may include fatigue, dyspnea, bruising and frequent infections.

(Alkylating Agent-Related Myelodysplastic Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

The swelling may extend across the midline of the scalp and may exhibit discoloration or bruising.

(Caput Succedaneum, NCI Thesaurus)

A question about whether an individual has or had a problem with their skin being fragile, easily bruised, or developing stretch marks.

(Have Problem with Fragile Skin or Bruising, NCI Thesaurus)