Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense blanches, present participle blanching, past tense, past participle blanched
1. verb
If you blanch, you suddenly become very pale.
His face blanched as he looked at Sharpe's blood-drenched uniform. [VERB]
She felt herself blanch at the unpleasant memories. [VERB + at]
Synonyms: turn pale, fade, pale, drain More Synonyms of blanch
2. verb
If you say that someone blanchesat something, you mean that they find it unpleasant and do not want to be involved with it.
Everything he had said had been a mistake. He blanched at his miscalculations. [VERB + at]
He blanched at the idea of getting up so early every day. [VERBat noun]
3. verb
If you blanch vegetables, fruit, or nuts, you put them into boiling water for a short time, usually in order to remove their skins,or to prepare them for freezing.
Skin the peaches by blanching them. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: boil, scald, dunk More Synonyms of blanch
More Synonyms of blanch
blanch in British English
(blɑːntʃ)
verb(mainly tr)
1. (also intr)
to remove colour from, or (of colour) to be removed; whiten; fade
the sun blanched the carpet
over the years the painting blanched
2. (usually intr)
to become or cause to become pale, as with sickness or fear
3.
to plunge tomatoes, nuts, etc, into boiling water to loosen the skin
4.
to plunge (meat, green vegetables, etc) in boiling water or bring to the boil in water in order to whiten, preserve the natural colour, or reduce or remove a bitter or salty taste
5.
to cause (celery, chicory, etc) to grow free of chlorophyll by the exclusion of sunlight
6. metallurgy
to whiten (a metal), usually by treating it with an acid or by coating it with tin
7. (transitive; usually foll byover)
to attempt to conceal something
Word origin
C14: from Old French blanchir from blanc white; see blank
blanch in American English
(blæntʃ; blɑntʃ)
verb transitive
1.
to make white; take color out of
2.
to make pale
3.
to bleach (endive, celery, etc.) by earthing up or covering so as to keep away light and improve the appearance, flavor, or tenderness
4.
a.
to scald (as vegetables being prepared for freezing)
b.
to scald (almonds) so as to remove the skins
5. Metallurgy
to brighten with acid or by coating with tin
verb intransitive
6.
to whiten; turn pale
Derived forms
blancher (ˈblancher)
noun
Word origin
ME blanchen < OFr blanchir < blanc, white: see blank
Examples of 'blanch' in a sentence
blanch
Initially brown, it is first boiled to blanch it.
Smith, Drew Food Watch (1994)
And then he drew back with a cry, and a blanched face.
Jerome K. Jerome Three Men in a Boat (1889)
Fry quickly until the chicken is browned, then add the blanched green beans.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
When the noodles have 1 minute to go, throw in the prepared greens to blanch them.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
blanch
British English: blanch VERB
If you blanch, you suddenly become very pale.
His face blanched as he looked at the soldier's blood-drenched uniform.
American English: blanch
Brazilian Portuguese: empalidecer
Chinese: 突然变苍白
European Spanish: palidecer
French: blêmir
German: blass werden
Italian: sbiancare
Japanese: 顔色を蒼白にする
Korean: 새파래지다
European Portuguese: empalidecer
Latin American Spanish: palidecer
1 (verb)
Definition
to become pale, as with sickness or fear
She felt herself blanch at the unpleasant memories.
Synonyms
turn pale
fade
Even a soft light fades the carpets in a room.
pale
Her face paled at the news.
drain
bleach
The sun will cause the hairs on your face to bleach.
wan
whiten
His face whitened as he heard the news.
go white
become pallid
become or grow white
2 (verb)
Staff don't blanch at the sight of blood.
Synonyms
recoil
People used to recoil from the idea of getting into debt.
start
Rachel started at his touch.
withdraw
Troops withdrew from the country last March.
flee
retreat
They were forced to retreat.
duck
shrink
back off
They backed off in horror.
wince
She winced at the thought of getting her tooth removed.
swerve
cringe
I cringed in horror.
shy away
quail
The very word makes many of us quail.
cower
The hostages cowered in their seats.
shirk
draw back
I drew back with a horrified scream.
baulk
blench
3 (verb)
Definition
to prepare meat or vegetables by plunging them in boiling water
Skin the peaches by blanching them.
Synonyms
boil
scald
dunk
Additional synonyms
in the sense of back off
Definition
to retreat
They backed off in horror.
Synonyms
recoil,
go back,
retire,
withdraw,
shrink back,
move back,
recede,
pull back,
back away,
draw back,
turn tail
in the sense of bleach
Definition
to make or become white or colourless by exposure to sunlight, or by the action of chemical agents
The sun will cause the hairs on your face to bleach.