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scar

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A permanent mark on the skin, sometimes caused by the healing of a wound.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

skahr
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

skɑː(ɹ)

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. A permanent mark on the skin, sometimes caused by the healing of a wound.

  2. by extension

    A permanent negative effect on someone's mind, caused by a traumatic experience.

  3. Any permanent mark resulting from damage.

  4. A cliff or rock outcrop.

  5. A rock in the sea breaking out from the surface of the water.

  6. A bare rocky place on the side of a hill or mountain.

verb

  1. To mark the skin permanently.

  2. To affect deeply in a traumatic manner.

    “Seeing his parents die in a car crash scarred him for life.”

  3. To form a scar.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A permanent mark on the skin, sometimes caused by the healing of a wound.

Used this way, scar 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

Nearby words

  • cicatrix , rarer, so it draws attention
  • mark , used mainly in Regional English

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

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

scar tissuescar formationwhite scardeep scarsmall scarlong scarugly scar

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • scar tissuenounCompound term

    The connective tissue that forms a scar.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: permanent mark on the skin

cicatrixRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.