scrubbed en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
From scrub + -ed.
Meanings
- Dwarfed or stunted; scrubby.
-
Having been scrubbed; having received a scrubbing.
The stain was scrubbed off by Marsha.
-
Having been made to seem wholesome or virtuous due to public relations, censorship or similar methods.
They specialize in ensuring celebrities a scrubbed public image.
-
(not-comparable) Dressed in scrubs; with hands washed according to operating room protocol and wearing sterile gown and sterile gloves.
But it wasn’t the sterile walls of the hospital I expected: no stirrups, no beeping monitors, no scrubbed nurses in face masks.
1998, Shannon Friesen, “Afterbirth”, in Like Minds, Fredericton, N.B.: Broken Jaw Press, →ISBN, page 67:
-
Synonym of scrubbed up (Cleaned up; dressed up; having been made smart).
He looked better than usual, reasonably scrubbed, but he still needed a better wardrobe.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most scrubbed | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more scrubbed | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |