as in pallid
having an unhealthy yellowish skin color
He looked tired and sallow. She has a sallow complexion.
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Recent Examples of sallow
If the entire plant looks sallow and yellow, give it better nutrition.
—
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
During a visit in August with two Times reporters, Mr. Perez’s skin was sallow.
—Aimee Ortiz, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
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
The eyes are sallow, the shoulders slumped, and the proud corona of hair is gone, instead a thin outline of flat, dark hair covers his head.
—Bob Guccione Jr, SPIN, 17 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for sallow
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
During a visit in August with two Times reporters, Mr. Perez’s skin was sallow.
—Aimee Ortiz, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
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
The eyes are sallow, the shoulders slumped, and the proud corona of hair is gone, instead a thin outline of flat, dark hair covers his head.
—Bob Guccione Jr, SPIN, 17 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for sallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sallow
Adjective
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Out of the bloodstains shone a pair of bright blue eyes, and a heart was beating under the pallid skin that looked several sizes too big.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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Three weeks after that hit that sent a crowd of 75,261 at Empower Field into a pallid silence, Bryant is ever the same.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
17 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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And the American health care system isn't set up to help people get through it, Mauldin outlines in the book, by way of inaccessible health care, lack of caregiver supports, expensive treatments and an overall de-valuing of sick people and those with disabilities.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
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In January 2025, a hospital in West Texas began reporting that children were coming in sick with measles.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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These pale pink nails are accented with jade motifs, bright red strokes, and plum blossoms to signal hope and renewal.—
Odeya Pinkus,
InStyle,
7 Feb. 2026
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The striking look, from Erdem’s fall 2026 collection, centered on a pale pink gown with crystal embroidery and an explosive tulle skirt—replete with a matching pink tulle veil.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Instead, the moss’s telltale sign of woe is its glum, grayish hue, a waxen appearance that comes from ferns and algae that have crept over it.—
Sabrina Imbler,
Smithsonian Magazine,
14 Dec. 2020
Adjective
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Taken on its own, however, Boyle and Garland’s trip back to this hellscape makes the most of casting a jaundiced, bloodshot eye at our current moment.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
18 June 2025
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But a more jaundiced government, like the one currently led by Trump, might be tempted to penalize India for this behavior.—
ASHLEY J. TELLIS,
Foreign Affairs,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Saccharine is more polished in its technical aspects than in its storytelling, from the queasy visuals (Sarroff shot Relic, as well as both Smile movies) and sickly lighting to composer Hannah Peel’s eerie synths to some impressively gnarly gore.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Feb. 2026
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The 89-minute running time doesn’t allow much exposition, and in fact the opening sequence shows a veterinarian coming to treat a sickly Ben before having his face viciously torn off.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Photos shared by the department show a silvery gray fox bounding majestically across a white snowy plain beneath towering, sunlit alpine peaks.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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So far, he’s been spotted draped in a full-length, white fluffy coat and fire engine-red hat and gloves, watching the women’s downhill race, and casually chatting with onlookers at the curling mixed doubles, adorned in a zip-jacket emblazoned with Team USA players’ faces.—
Sheena McKenzie,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Eggs hatch from late summer until early winter and form a waxy white covering.—
Pamm Cooper,
Hartford Courant,
25 Jan. 2026
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The affected skin could feel abnormally firm or waxy, changing color from red to white or grayish-yellow, and eventually to black as your skin tissue dies.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sallow. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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