pallor

noun

pal·​lor ˈpa-lər How to pronounce pallor (audio)
Synonyms of pallornext
: deficiency of color especially of the face : paleness
The boy's sickly pallor concerned his parents.

Examples of pallor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The typical modern player is a lone, distant figure, emerging to issue platitudes about remaining in the moment, taking it one game at a time, the language itself sanded down to an anodyne pallor. —Nicholas Dawidoff, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2024 The Bride of Frankenstein would be nothing without her towering updo, just as skeletons don’t have the same creepy effect without bone-white pallor and toothy grin. —Karina Hoshikawa, refinery29.com, 23 Oct. 2024 What has many rows of teeth, a terrifying set of jaws and a corpse-like pallor? —Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024 The Collegeville outfit came with the mask of a scowling pirate with an open eye-patch that looked more like a black eye and a sickly green pallor that would shiver the timbers of the saltiest sea dog. —René Guzman, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pallor 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pallour, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French palur, pallor "paleness, wanness, pale yellow color (of gold), borrowed from Latin pallor "paleness of complexion, loss of color," noun derivative, with the suffix -ōr-, -or (early Latin -ōs), from the base of pallēre "to be pale or bloodless, have a pale color," pallidus "pale, colorless" — more at fallow entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pallor was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near pallor

pallone

pallor

Pallottine

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Pallor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pallor. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

pallor

noun
pal·​lor ˈpal-ər How to pronounce pallor (audio)
: paleness especially of the face

Medical Definition

pallor

noun
pal·​lor ˈpal-ər How to pronounce pallor (audio)
: deficiency of color especially of the face : paleness
patients in hemorrhagic shock may exhibit extreme pallor—Scientific American Medicine
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