complexion

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How good for the complexion were the winds that blew from the great moorland spaces beyond the town!

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Definitions (17)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun The natural color, texture, and appearance of the skin, especially of the face.
  2. noun General character, aspect, or appearance: findings that will alter the complexion of the problem.
  3. noun A viewpoint, inclination, or attitude: a conservative political complexion.
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Examples (50)

  • Her brown hair hung limp around her shoulders and her complexion was as pale as the moon. —  Garwood, Julie - The Secret
  • Above all, his complexion was a fearful ashen colour. —  Maigret Stonewalled—Georges Simenon - 03
  • I judged him to be about forty-five, dark-haired and decidedly handsome, but his complexion was a trifle sallow, and his features had a decidedly Oriental cast He greeted me profusely in a quiet, highly refined voice. —  The Stretton Street Affair
  • I found my lord in bed, retching violently; his complexion was the colour of zinc, his hands were cold and clammy, and after every spasm his face streamed with perspiration I am indeed sorry to see you like this," I said, bending over him. —  A Bid for Fortune or Dr. Nikola's Vendetta
  • Normally his complexion was a clear black, and very handsome, but now it had modified to old amber. —  Chapters from My Autobiography
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

hue ·  cheek ·  coloring ·  countenance ·  pallor ·  color ·  skin ·  whiteness ·  forehead ·  beard ·  sheen ·  hair
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English complexioun, physical constitution, from Old French complexion, from Late Latin complexiō, complexiōn-, balance of the humors, from Latin, combination, from complexus, past participle of complectī, to entwine; see complect.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly also complection; from Middle English complexion, complexioun, complection, temperament, from Old French complexion, French complexion = Provencal complexio, complicio = Spanish complexion = Portuguese compleição = Italian complessione, from Latin complexio(n-), conplexio(n), a combination, connection, period, in Late Latin physical constitution or habit, from complecti, past participle complexus, entwine, encompass: see complex, adjective
  2. from complexion, n.
 

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/kəmˈplɛkʃən/
by American Heritage

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