sallow

¹ American  

[sal-oh] / ˈsæl oʊ /

adjective

sallower, sallowest

1. of a sickly, yellowish or lightish brown color.

   sallow cheeks; a sallow complexion.

   Synonyms:

   jaundiced, bilious

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verb (used with object)

1. to make sallow.

sallow ² American  

[sal-oh] / ˈsæl oʊ /

noun

British.

1. any of several shrubby Old World willows, especially Salix atrocinerea or the pussy willow, S. caprea.

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sallow ¹ British  

/ ˈsæləʊ /

adjective

1. (esp of human skin) of an unhealthy pale or yellowish colour

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verb

1. (tr) to make sallow

sallow ² British  

/ ˈsæləʊ /

noun

1. any of several small willow trees, esp the Eurasian Salix cinerea ( common sallow ), which has large catkins that appear before the leaves

2. a twig or the wood of any of these trees

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sallowy
  adjective
• sallowish
  adjective
• sallowness
  noun
• sallowly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of sallow¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English sal(o)we, Old English salo; cognate with Old Norse sǫlr “yellow”; compare French sale “dirty” (from Germanic )

Origin of sallow²

before 900; Middle English; Old English sealh; cognate with Old High German salaha, Latin salix

Explanation

Sallow means unhealthy in appearance — often yellow in color — and is almost invariably used to describe someone's complexion. His smile was as engaging as ever, but from his sallow complexion, I knew he was sick. Usually we say that when someone is sick they turn "green." You could also say their skin takes on a sallow look, and you'd mean the same thing. Sallow also describes the way someone looks if they have lost blood or are pale from fever. This word comes from Germanic roots meaning "dusky" or "dirty."

Example Sentences

When they film themselves preening on their phones, with the images projected onto the giant mirrors, Claire and Solange use filters that turn their sallow, pinched faces into plump-lipped, high-cheekboned ones that suggest Kim Kardashian.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

The canvas, 5 feet square, imposes the sentiment in a stack of crisp white words over snow-covered mountain scenery, the sky a sallow yellow fading upward into bilious green.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2023

“Mother was already dying ... her hands were blue, her complexion was sallow, there were circles under her eyes,” she said.

From Reuters • Aug. 14, 2022

“For the last 2½ months, we showed the world. … The impossible became the routine for us,” Samoilenko said, looking sallow on the video, his beard grown wild.

From Washington Post • May 12, 2022

Her lips were flat and drooping, as though they were too heavy to hold up, and her cheeks were sallow and dull.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill