ton·sure
ˈtän(t)-shər 
1
: the Roman Catholic or Eastern rite of admission to the clerical state by the clipping or shaving of a portion of the head
2
: the shaven crown or patch worn by monks and other clerics
3
: a bald spot resembling a tonsure
tonsured; tonsuring
ˈtän(t)-sh(ə-)riŋ
: to shave the head of
especially
: to confer the tonsure upon
Examples of tonsure in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Greg Grandin
september 23, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2025
Bun’s charge is the friendly white guy with the belly and the tonsure.
—Han Ong, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
Atwood's attorney, Joseph Perkovich, said the department complied with the injunction, and allowed religious advisers to visit Atwood on Tuesday morning to perform a ceremony, known as a tonsure, involving cutting a lock of his hair and making Atwood a monk.
—Chelsea Curtis, The Arizona Republic, 8 June 2022
His Semitic features suggested intelligence, but his shambling gait and inattention to his tonsure and sartorial presence suggested a man under extraordinary stress.
—Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2021
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Noun
When Las Casas first landed in Hispaniola (today divided by Haiti in the west and the Dominican Republic in the east), his head was already crowned with a friar’s tonsure.
—Greg Grandin
september 23, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2025
Bun’s charge is the friendly white guy with the belly and the tonsure.
—Han Ong, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
Atwood's attorney, Joseph Perkovich, said the department complied with the injunction, and allowed religious advisers to visit Atwood on Tuesday morning to perform a ceremony, known as a tonsure, involving cutting a lock of his hair and making Atwood a monk.
—Chelsea Curtis, The Arizona Republic, 8 June 2022
His Semitic features suggested intelligence, but his shambling gait and inattention to his tonsure and sartorial presence suggested a man under extraordinary stress.
—Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Tonsure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tonsure. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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