as in pallid
having an unhealthy yellowish skin color
He looked tired and sallow. She has a sallow complexion.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sallow
If the entire plant looks sallow and yellow, give it better nutrition.
—
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
During a visit in August with two Times reporters, Mr. Perez’s skin was sallow.
—Aimee Ortiz, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
An awkward, sallow, provincial, minor army officer, Napoleon, was irresistibly drawn to Joséphine, attracted by her proximity to the most powerful men in France.
—Anne Higonnet, Vogue, 17 Nov. 2023
The eyes are sallow, the shoulders slumped, and the proud corona of hair is gone, instead a thin outline of flat, dark hair covers his head.
—Bob Guccione Jr, SPIN, 17 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for sallow
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
During a visit in August with two Times reporters, Mr. Perez’s skin was sallow.
—Aimee Ortiz, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
An awkward, sallow, provincial, minor army officer, Napoleon, was irresistibly drawn to Joséphine, attracted by her proximity to the most powerful men in France.
—Anne Higonnet, Vogue, 17 Nov. 2023
The eyes are sallow, the shoulders slumped, and the proud corona of hair is gone, instead a thin outline of flat, dark hair covers his head.
—Bob Guccione Jr, SPIN, 17 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for sallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sallow
Adjective
-
His practical advice fares better than both his theories and his pallid attempts at profundity.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Out of the bloodstains shone a pair of bright blue eyes, and a heart was beating under the pallid skin that looked several sizes too big.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Often, Marcano had to stand in line for hours with her sick daughter to insure that Amalia was seen by Dilley’s medical team.—
Sarah Stillman,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
There have been case reports of people getting very sick from injecting the wrong dose of a peptide or having contaminated peptides.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio had already spun the Renaissance fantasy of the bella donna, with her golden tresses, blue eyes, and pale skin.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Some produce pale purple flowers that form crowns around deep green foliage, but others bloom in pink, red, blue, and white hues.—
Patricia S York,
Southern Living,
18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Instead, the moss’s telltale sign of woe is its glum, grayish hue, a waxen appearance that comes from ferns and algae that have crept over it.—
Sabrina Imbler,
Smithsonian Magazine,
14 Dec. 2020
Adjective
-
Investors are increasingly taking a jaundiced view of that kind of spending, especially without a more pronounced acceleration in growth.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Though undeniably popular, social media is regarded now with an increasingly jaundiced eye, as the suits against Meta have proved.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
There’s a painterly look to the image, rather than the typical slop-style sickly sheen, but the AI origins are still unmistakable.—
Cath Virginia,
The Verge,
11 Apr. 2026
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For reasons that are still poorly understood, the body’s immune system, normally tuned exquisitely to root out and destroy invasive pathogens or sickly cells, begins to assault healthy cells instead.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Many of the college-age attendees donned Turning Point attire, Trump hats and red-white-and-blue paraphernalia for the event.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
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The ceiling of the awning, once white, is now charred and peeling.—
Monique John,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Unlike the children, who look like waxy versions of my own, this is my husband, with the soft face and the plaid shirt and the puppy dog— Eyes.—
Glamour,
Glamour,
7 Apr. 2026
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High-starch potatoes will take a little longer to soften fully, while waxier or smaller varieties may cook faster.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sallow. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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