cerise means cherry-colored; a light bright red. It carries an Arena rating of 1516, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, cerise ranks #1,614 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,710 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,625 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #3,714 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
cerise is pronounced /səˈɹiːz/.
Why “cerise” is a great word
Of a deep, bright red colour tinted with pink, like that of a cherry. Borrowed from French *cerise* (mid-19th century), itself from Vulgar Latin *ceresia*, from Latin *cerasium* ("cherry, cherry tree"). Doublet of *cherry* and *kirsch*. First attested in English in 1853. Unlike "crimson," which plunges toward the bluish depths of arterial blood, or "scarlet," which flares with the orange heat of military pageantry, *cerise* occupies a more intimate register. It is the exact blush of a ripe Morello cherry, the stain on a child's fingers after a July afternoon in the orchard, and the first flush of a summer sunset before it deepens to violet—a fleeting testament to redness not as power, but as tenderness on the verge of surrender.
Etymology
Borrowed from French cerise (mid 19th century), itself from Vulgar Latin ceresia, from Latin cerasium. Doublet of cherry and kirsch.
adj
- Cherry-colored; a light bright red.
name
- A female given name from French.
- A surname transferred from the given name.
noun
- A deep, bright red colour tinted with pink.e.g.“Before us lay the autumn tinted woods glimmering in gold, purple, green, and cerise.” — 1927, Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon, E.P. Dutton & Co., page 67:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- cherry 69% match — A small fruit, usually red, black or yellow, with a smooth hard seed and a short hard stem. vs cerise →
- crimson 68% match — A deep, slightly bluish red. vs cerise →
- cherrylike 67% match — Resembling a cherry, such as in shape, color, or flavor vs cerise →
- mulberry 64% match — Any of several trees, of the genus Morus, having edible fruits. vs cerise →
- crimsonish 64% match — Somewhat crimson in colour; crimsony. vs cerise →
- puniceous 64% match — Bright red or purple in colour. vs cerise →
- crimsony 63% match — Somewhat crimson in colour. vs cerise →
- fuchsia 62% match — A popular garden plant, of the genus Fuchsia, of the Onagraceae family, shrubs with red, pink or purple flowers. vs cerise →