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cosmetic

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

Any substances applied to enhance the external color or texture of the skin, e.g.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kahzmehtik

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

kɑzˈmɛtɪk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Any substances applied to enhance the external color or texture of the skin, e.g. lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner.

  2. A feature existing only on the surface.

  3. An intangible influence that improves the overall perception of some thing or situation.

adjective

  1. External or superficial; pertaining only to the surface or appearance of something.

  2. Imparting or improving beauty, particularly the beauty of the complexion.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Any substances applied to enhance the external color or texture of the skin, e.g. lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner.

Used this way, cosmetic is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use cosmetic

  • “She bought a new cosmetic product to enhance her natural beauty.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Feature / external

cosmetic appearance

Toiletry

cosmetic act

Imparting

cosmetic industry

Other combinations

cosmetic surgerycosmetic surgeoncosmetic resultgood cosmeticcosmetic effect

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • cosmetologynounScientific field

    The practice of beautifying the face and hair and skin.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • cosmetic surgeonnounCompound term

    A surgeon who beautifies the body (especially the face).

  • cosmetic surgerynounCompound term

    Plastic surgery to remove wrinkles and other signs of aging from your face.

  • cosmetic dentistrynounCompound term

    The branch of dentistry dealing with the appearance of the teeth.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: external or superficial

aestheticesthetic

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.