pallor

noun

pal·​lor ˈpa-lər 

: 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

Despite growing awareness of the connection between tanning beds and skin cancer, devotees continue to use them to banish a wintry pallor. —Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 12 Dec. 2025

Sharing the same gray pallor to their skin, the pair take comfort in one another as fellow outcasts. —Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025

With his deathly pallor and Byronic charm, Stamp was perfect as the self-destructive, swaggering scoundrel who is haunted by visions of a spectral little girl. —Christina Newland, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025

Symptoms include easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine. —Saleen Martin, USA Today, 5 June 2025

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

Rhymes for pallor

• calor
• malheur
• salar
• valor
• valour

Kids Definition

pallor

noun

pal·​lor ˈpal-ər 

: paleness especially of the face

Medical Definition

pallor

noun

pal·​lor ˈpal-ər 

: deficiency of color especially of the face : paleness

patients in hemorrhagic shock may exhibit extreme pallor

—Scientific American Medicine