SALLOW Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

sallow

adjective

Definition of sallow

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

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.

Recent Examples of sallow The light blue shade counteracts purple and pink tones to cover redness and veins, while the peach shade brightens and corrects sallow-looking skin. — Lily Wohlner, Allure, 23 Dec. 2025 The film is aggressively teal with a sallow greige (gray-beige) overcast. — Courtney Howard, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025 If the entire plant looks sallow and yellow, give it better nutrition. — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for sallow

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sallow

Adjective

Their bulging eyes stare back at the Queen’s Consort, empty in pallid faces.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
His first pitch brought in between five and eight residents but was met with pallid responses.

— Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Definition of pallid

Adjective

Between 60% and 70% of new Ebola cases are being detected among people who were not already being monitored as contacts, meaning health workers may only discover infections after patients become sick and have had opportunities to expose others.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
News host had brain surgery to remove a tumor, her mother got diagnosed with brain cancer, her younger brother, Peter, suffered injuries from a car accident, and her father got very sick a week before her wedding.

— Diane J. Cho, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of sick

Adjective

Seeing her daughter in that state, babbling nonsense and barely able to stand, Letizia had goggled with the watery eyes of a sickly old lady.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026
The woman’s body, painted in blazing magenta, is wrapped around a man rendered in sickly olive green, her head disappearing into his chest.

— Carmen Rosenberg-Miller, Artforum, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of sickly

Adjective

Our clues to the density of forest canopies millions of years ago came from microscopic plant cuticles – the thin, waxy outer skin of leaves that can survive for millions of years in organic-rich sediments.

— Regan E. Dunn, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2026
But hot temps can turn them into a waxy mess before your eyes.

— Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026

Definition of waxy

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“Sallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sallow. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of sallow

adjective

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