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tanorexic

noun
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tan·​o·​rex·​ic | \ ˌta-nə-ˈrek-sik How to pronounce tanorexic (audio) \
plural tanorexics

Definition of tanorexic

: a person who is obsessed with having and maintaining a very dark tan According to psychologists familiar with this phenomenon, the typical tanorexic is a young woman. In general, she seldom if ever feels she is tan enough.— Robert Brody, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 June 1991 Tanorexics, it is now well known, are excellent candidates for skin cancer.— Scott Harris, Springfield (Massachusetts) Union-News, 31 Aug. 1989

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Other Words from tanorexic

tanorexic adjective
Advocates are using the headline-grabbing case of the tanorexic New Jersey mom to push the New York state Senate for approval of a bill banning anyone under 18 from using tanning beds. — Kenneth Lovett, Daily News (New York), 11 May 2012 She thinks that being slightly tanorexic is about being trendy and beautiful, right here, right now. — Elyssa Andrus, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), 24 June 2002

First Known Use of tanorexic

1987, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for tanorexic

blend of tan entry 2 and anorexic entry 2

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The first known use of tanorexic was in 1987

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Cite this Entry

“Tanorexic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tanorexic. Accessed 26 Oct. 2020.

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