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Glite Dictionary
sloughing

sloughing

1 8.8
A process where dead skin or tissue comes away from the body
  • noun
  • /ˈslʌfɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : desprendimiento
  • Periodic sloughing occurs when the biofilm gets too thick.
  • sloughing skin
  • gentle sloughing
  • dead skin sloughing

Examples

  • Sloughing of her skin tells me she's been in the water two, three days.

    Don't Say a Word (2001)

  • I'm literally as I'm doing this, I see little flakes of hair just sloughing off my skin.

  • Blisters or bullae form, and sloughing can occur within 48 hours of the initial manifestations.

    Academic text (2010)

  • What that does is that's sloughing off your skin scales and skin cells and it's leaving you a more even canvas to put that Tanner on.

  • The doctor explained that sloughing is a natural process where dead skin is shed from the surface.

  • After applying the cream, I noticed the sloughing of dead skin cells on my hands.

  • Sloughing of the outer layer of skin is common after a sunburn.

Synonyms

shedding
vssloughing
3 3.4

Losing hair or leaves naturally from animals and plants

is the specific medical loss of a surface layer like dead tissue

Antonyms

growth
∞ 1.6

An increase in size, number, or importance of something

formation
98 3.3

The act of starting or creating something

How Extensive

molting
  • Specialized
2 6.1
shedding
3 3.4
sloughing
  • Specialized
1 8.8
peeling
1 2.3

Surface Forms

sloughing singular
sloughings plural

Morphology

sloughing = slough (transparent) = slough + ing

A regular gerund/derived noun formed from the verb 'slough'; the meaning is directly the process of shedding.

Etymology

Sloughing comes from the old English root slough meaning 'to take off' or 'to peel away'. So sloughing is the natural process when skin or dead tissue 'peels off' or is shed.