gerötet

Gerötet is a German adjective meaning reddened or flushed. It describes skin, mucous membranes, or other surfaces that have turned red, typically as a result of heat, sun exposure, emotion, irritation, inflammation, or disease. In everyday language it is used to describe a flushed face or warmed cheeks, for example die gerötete Wange or ein gerötetes Gesicht. Grammatically, gerötet inflects like other adjectives: die gerötete Haut, eine gerötete Nase, ein gerötetes Gesicht.

The term is formed as the past participle of the verb röten, meaning to redden or to flush. As such, gerötet can function attributively or predicatively: Die Haut ist gerötet; Die Wangen sind gerötet. In medical contexts, redness is referred to as erythema, and gerötet is used to describe mild-to-moderate reddening due to fever, sunburn, dermatitis, rosacea, allergies, or irritation. It is important to distinguish reddening from other color changes such as cyanosis (bluish discoloration) or pallor.

See also: erythema, flushing, rosacea, dermatitis, sunburn.