waxen
1
7.7
- adjective
- /ˈwæksən/
- Archaic
:
ceroso
- She already looks waxen enough; it would be a natural fit.
- waxen face
- pale or waxen
Examples
-
She swims underwater to the shore, pulls the boy from the water with her last strength, and lays him on the grass; his face is waxen, his body empty of breath.
Fiction book (2002) -
My smooth, waxen fingers look feminine cradled in his rough, powerful hands.
Fiction book (2002) -
His face was tight and waxen.
Fiction book (1995) -
And yet, she says, "his strange, heavy, almost waxen face was not lined by experience" (9).
Academic text (1995) -
My attention returned to Juliet, lying in the same position as before, waxen and peaceful.
Fiction book (1992) -
He is so pale and waxen, more a ghost than a man.
Fiction book (1997) -
His skin, normally a robust tan, was a waxen gray.
-
Her face was waxen with sadness and shock, but she was proud and stared me directly in the face when she spoke.
-
He is so pale and waxen, more a ghost than a man.
Synonyms
Antonyms
How Pale
1
9.1
- Archaic
1
7.7
5
5.1
- Archaic
417
8.6
291
1.0
695
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word waxen comes from the old word wax, which means 'soft substance made by bees'. So something waxen looks like wax, smooth, pale, and a little lifeless, like a wax statue.