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 ashen As the trial got underway, her clients sat ashen at the defense table. J. David Goodman, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2025 His skin, particularly his face, had an ashen appearance. Ars Technica, 10 Jan. 2025 Metal railings or a charred brick chimney were all that remained to distinguish the ashen piles. Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025 But the film that follows — luminously ashen where too many recent movies and TV shows have just been irritatingly dim — is flooded with a moonlight so lucid and alive that even the story’s most stygian moments might as well have been set at high noon. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for ashen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ashen
Adjective
  • Yet senior test kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk recently took one of those pallid lumps and coaxed utter brilliance from it.
    Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Smith’s skin took on a new color, one more pallid with a blue, purple undertone.
    Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Beneath the bone, the pale, smooth tube of spinal cord is exposed.
    Sophia Li, NPR, 17 Aug. 2025
  • Signs your plants need attention include pale foliage, spindly new growth, and fewer new flowers.
    Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ashen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ashen. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on ashen

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!