Blended

How to spell blended

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce blended

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does blended mean?

1. adjectiveCombined or mixed together so that separate elements form a single whole.
2. verbMixed two or more things together so they combined smoothly.

Blended in a sentence

• adjective

  The distillery sells a smooth blended whisky at a fair price.

• verb

  She blended the flour and butter until the mixture turned crumbly.

• adjective

  Their blended family includes children from two previous marriages.

• verb

  The painter blended the two colours to create a soft gradient.

Where does blended come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This word grows from the verb 'blend', whose roots lie in Old Norse 'blanda', meaning 'to mix' or 'to mingle', reinforced by the related Old English 'blandan' carrying the same sense. The core idea has always been the merging of two or more things into one combined mass, whether liquids, ingredients, or qualities. The simple '-ed' ending marks the ordinary past tense and past participle of the verb, and it also works as an adjective describing something that has been mixed, as in a 'blended' whisky or a 'blended' family. Because both source words began with the cluster 'bl-' and ended in a soft 'd', the modern spelling is wonderfully regular: it is simply the base 'blend' plus '-ed', with no doubling and no dropped letters to trip up a writer.

How the word is built

• blend (mix together)
• -ed (past tense / past participle / adjective suffix)