"at first blush" meaning in English

See at first blush in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: en-au-at first blush.ogg [Australia]
Etymology: From an obsolete sense of blush meaning to glance at. Etymology templates: {{m|en|blush}} blush Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} at first blush, {{en-prep phrase}} at first blush
  1. (idiomatic) Upon first impression or consideration; seemingly, apparently, ostensibly. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: at first glance, at first sight, on the face of it, ostensibly, at the first blush Translations (upon first impression or consideration): առաջին հայացքից (aṙaǰin hayacʻkʻicʻ) (Armenian), 乍看 (zhàkàn) (Chinese Mandarin), 乍聽 (Chinese Mandarin), 乍听 (zhàtīng) (Chinese Mandarin), na první dojem [masculine] (Czech), op het eerste gezicht (Dutch), unuavide (Esperanto), esmapilgul (Estonian), ensi näkemältä (Finnish), ensi näkemällä (Finnish), ensi vilkaisulta (Finnish), ensi vailkaisulla (Finnish), ensi silmäykseltä (Finnish), ensi silmäyksellä (Finnish), à première vue (French), au premier abord (French), de prime abord (French), auf den ersten Blick (German), εκ πρώτης όψεως (ek prótis ópseos) (Greek), εκ πρώτης εντύπωσης (ek prótis entýposis) (Greek), εκ πρώτης όψης (ek prótis ópsis) (Greek), εκ πρώτης εντύπωσεως (ek prótis entýposeos) (Greek), με μια πρώτη ματιά (me mia próti matiá) (Greek), a prima vista (Italian), na pierwszy rzut oka (Polish), à primeira vista (Portuguese), на пе́рвый взгляд (na pérvyj vzgljad) (Russian)

Download JSON data for at first blush meaning in English (7.4kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "blush"
      },
      "expansion": "blush",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From an obsolete sense of blush meaning to glance at.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "at first blush",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "at first blush",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Armenian terms with redundant script codes",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant script codes",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1843, Charles James Lever, Jack Hinton, the Guardsman",
          "text": "The finer and more distinctive features of a land require deep study and long acquaintance, but the broader traits of nationality are caught in an instant, or not caught at all. Familiarity with, destroys them, and it is only at first blush that we learn to appreciate them with force.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1990, Nicolas Wolfson, Corporate First Amendment: Rights and the Sec, Quorum Books, page 1",
          "text": "At first blush it appears rather strange to consider for even a moment the possibility that corporate financial and business disclosure rises to the dignity of speech protected by the First Amendment.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Clarence A. Bonnen, Daniel E. Flage, Descartes and Method: A Search for a Method in Meditations, page 100",
          "text": "Third, it is only at first blush that one finds no exercises in conceptual elucidation",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Dennis Martin Altman, The First Liberal: A Secular Look at Jesus' Socio-Political Ideas and How They Become the Basis of Modern Liberalism, iUniverse, page 47",
          "text": "That may sound innocent at first blush, but a phrase like \"American leadership is good … for the world\" is a signal that these people want to impose their will on others; and when military strength and moral principle are added, the caution flag must be raised.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Cynthia Garner, Secret of the Wolf, Forever",
          "text": "At first blush it seemed the attacks by the werewolf were random.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Upon first impression or consideration; seemingly, apparently, ostensibly."
      ],
      "id": "en-at_first_blush-en-prep_phrase-eGI6ES-u",
      "links": [
        [
          "impression",
          "impression"
        ],
        [
          "consideration",
          "consideration"
        ],
        [
          "seemingly",
          "seemingly"
        ],
        [
          "apparently",
          "apparently"
        ],
        [
          "ostensibly",
          "ostensibly"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Upon first impression or consideration; seemingly, apparently, ostensibly."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "at first glance"
        },
        {
          "word": "at first sight"
        },
        {
          "word": "on the face of it"
        },
        {
          "word": "ostensibly"
        },
        {
          "word": "at the first blush"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "roman": "aṙaǰin hayacʻkʻicʻ",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "առաջին հայացքից"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zhàkàn",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "乍看"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "乍聽"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zhàtīng",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "乍听"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "na první dojem"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "op het eerste gezicht"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "unuavide"
        },
        {
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "esmapilgul"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "ensi näkemältä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "ensi näkemällä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "ensi vilkaisulta"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "ensi vailkaisulla"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "ensi silmäykseltä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "ensi silmäyksellä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "à première vue"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "au premier abord"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "de prime abord"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "auf den ersten Blick"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ek prótis ópseos",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "εκ πρώτης όψεως"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ek prótis entýposis",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "εκ πρώτης εντύπωσης"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ek prótis ópsis",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "εκ πρώτης όψης"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ek prótis entýposeos",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "εκ πρώτης εντύπωσεως"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "me mia próti matiá",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "με μια πρώτη ματιά"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "a prima vista"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "na pierwszy rzut oka"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "à primeira vista"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "na pérvyj vzgljad",
          "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
          "word": "на пе́рвый взгляд"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-at first blush.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/03/En-au-at_first_blush.ogg/En-au-at_first_blush.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/En-au-at_first_blush.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "at first blush"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "blush"
      },
      "expansion": "blush",
      "name": "m"
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  ],
  "etymology_text": "From an obsolete sense of blush meaning to glance at.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
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      "expansion": "at first blush",
      "name": "head"
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    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "at first blush",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
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  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Armenian terms with redundant script codes",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English hedges",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English modal adverbs",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Greek terms with redundant script codes",
        "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1843, Charles James Lever, Jack Hinton, the Guardsman",
          "text": "The finer and more distinctive features of a land require deep study and long acquaintance, but the broader traits of nationality are caught in an instant, or not caught at all. Familiarity with, destroys them, and it is only at first blush that we learn to appreciate them with force.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1990, Nicolas Wolfson, Corporate First Amendment: Rights and the Sec, Quorum Books, page 1",
          "text": "At first blush it appears rather strange to consider for even a moment the possibility that corporate financial and business disclosure rises to the dignity of speech protected by the First Amendment.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Clarence A. Bonnen, Daniel E. Flage, Descartes and Method: A Search for a Method in Meditations, page 100",
          "text": "Third, it is only at first blush that one finds no exercises in conceptual elucidation",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Dennis Martin Altman, The First Liberal: A Secular Look at Jesus' Socio-Political Ideas and How They Become the Basis of Modern Liberalism, iUniverse, page 47",
          "text": "That may sound innocent at first blush, but a phrase like \"American leadership is good … for the world\" is a signal that these people want to impose their will on others; and when military strength and moral principle are added, the caution flag must be raised.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Cynthia Garner, Secret of the Wolf, Forever",
          "text": "At first blush it seemed the attacks by the werewolf were random.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Upon first impression or consideration; seemingly, apparently, ostensibly."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "impression",
          "impression"
        ],
        [
          "consideration",
          "consideration"
        ],
        [
          "seemingly",
          "seemingly"
        ],
        [
          "apparently",
          "apparently"
        ],
        [
          "ostensibly",
          "ostensibly"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Upon first impression or consideration; seemingly, apparently, ostensibly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-at first blush.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/03/En-au-at_first_blush.ogg/En-au-at_first_blush.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/En-au-at_first_blush.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
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      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "at first glance"
    },
    {
      "word": "at first sight"
    },
    {
      "word": "on the face of it"
    },
    {
      "word": "ostensibly"
    },
    {
      "word": "at the first blush"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "aṙaǰin hayacʻkʻicʻ",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "առաջին հայացքից"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zhàkàn",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "乍看"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "乍聽"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zhàtīng",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "乍听"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "na první dojem"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "op het eerste gezicht"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "unuavide"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "esmapilgul"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "ensi näkemältä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "ensi näkemällä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "ensi vilkaisulta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "ensi vailkaisulla"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "ensi silmäykseltä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "ensi silmäyksellä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "à première vue"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "au premier abord"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "de prime abord"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "auf den ersten Blick"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ek prótis ópseos",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "εκ πρώτης όψεως"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ek prótis entýposis",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "εκ πρώτης εντύπωσης"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ek prótis ópsis",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "εκ πρώτης όψης"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ek prótis entýposeos",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "εκ πρώτης εντύπωσεως"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "me mia próti matiá",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "με μια πρώτη ματιά"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "a prima vista"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "na pierwszy rzut oka"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "à primeira vista"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "na pérvyj vzgljad",
      "sense": "upon first impression or consideration",
      "word": "на пе́рвый взгляд"
    }
  ],
  "word": "at first blush"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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