as in decorative
serving to add beauty
changes in the original design of the building were purely cosmetic
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Recent Examples of cosmetic
Barbara Wolf, STAT, 15 May 2026
What Beauty Tourism Means Beauty tourism refers to traveling internationally for cosmetic or aesthetic procedures rather than receiving them locally.
—Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 May 2026
Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
It was also adopted by dermo-cosmetic brands for sensitive skin.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cosmetic
Adjective
Once a medication is deemed appropriate to be classified as a generic drug, neither the manufacturer nor the doctor who previously prescribed the medication are obligated to inform the patient of the cosmetic changes.
—Barbara Wolf, STAT, 15 May 2026
What Beauty Tourism Means Beauty tourism refers to traveling internationally for cosmetic or aesthetic procedures rather than receiving them locally.
—Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 May 2026
Noun
These versatile salves might serve to treat a burn, as a facial cosmetic, or as a hair conditioner in a pinch.
—Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
It was also adopted by dermo-cosmetic brands for sensitive skin.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cosmetic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cosmetic
Adjective
-
The building’s original interior — including one of the largest courtrooms in the state, a decorative wall, ceiling paintings, small wood balconies and patterned floor coverings — were restored in the early 2000s through the Texas Historical Commission’s program.—
Tanya Babbar,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 May 2026
-
Beau Bottles easy-to-use decorative bottle wraps transform champagne, prosecco and wine bottles into beautiful gift-ready presentations in under 60 seconds – just slip on and apply heat with a hair dryer.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
British makeup artist and designer Isamaya Ffrench has launched Studio Iron, a gallery and concept store in London that invites artists to create design objects and sculpture, that dissolve boundaries between genres, reports WWD.—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
19 May 2026
-
But the moon’s geological makeup gives moonquakes a surprising persistence compared with earthquakes; the tremors can last for several hours.—
Robin George Andrews,
Scientific American,
19 May 2026
Adjective
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Every generous gesture, every supposedly respectful question, every delicate expression of complete fixation becomes quietly infected by the growing understanding that Cole sees Māori humanity itself as something ornamental.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
-
However, recent studies have found that ornamental flowers and flowering herbs can be some of the best species for companion planting.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
This would be an entertaining video to show up on your doom scroll late at night, seeing how paint colors can be mixed and matched to present the color of your opponent, but two and a half minutes of this?—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
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Toronto was shorthanded in the frontcourt without starting center Temi Fagbenle (right shoulder), and the Sparks trio of bigs had a field day with 54 points in the paint.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2026
Noun
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Last year, Makary appeared at a news conference announcing the HHS and FDA would be implementing a series of measures to phase out eight artificial food dyes and colorings from America's food supply by the end of 2026.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
12 May 2026
-
Most complexity theorists study how hard problems like three-coloring are (in this case, how many steps are needed to find a valid coloring).—
Ben Brubaker,
Quanta Magazine,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cosmetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cosmetic. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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