Carmine (3)
I believe the answer is:
red
'carmine' is the definition.
(I know that carmine can be written as red)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for red that I've seen before include "Bloodshot" , "Florid" , "Blushing" , "River, its source in the US, flowing north to empty into L Winnipeg" , "Scarlet or vermilion" .)