alabaster
Americannoun
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a finely granular variety of gypsum, often white and translucent, used for ornamental objects or work, such as lamp bases, figurines, etc.
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Also called Oriental alabaster. a variety of calcite, often banded, used or sold as alabaster.
adjective
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made of alabaster.
an alabaster column.
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resembling alabaster; smooth and white.
her alabaster throat.
noun
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a fine-grained usually white, opaque, or translucent variety of gypsum used for statues, vases, etc
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a variety of hard semitranslucent calcite, often banded like marble
adjective
Other Word Forms
- alabastrine adjective
Etymology
Origin of alabaster
1350–1400; < Latin < Greek alábastros; replacing Middle English alabastre < Middle French < Latin
Explanation
Alabaster is a pale mineral that's soft enough for carving. In museums, you're likely to see statues and vases carved from alabaster. The root of alabaster is a Greek word meaning "perfume vase," alabastros. You'll also find ancient tomb carvings, windows in medieval cathedrals, and Egyptian sarcophagi made of alabaster. Alabaster is usually white, and because it is translucent, seems lit from within. For this reason, it often describes a pale complexion that seems to glow from the inside.
Vocabulary lists containing alabaster
The Cay
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Wonder
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White
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The researchers said Carter recorded evidence of an ancient looting episode that focused on what was inside the alabaster vessels.
From Science Daily • Dec. 18, 2025
Among the nearly 100 works on view are sculptures in iron, wood, alabaster and clay as well as drawings, collages and experimental works using paper.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2025
But only one welcomes you at the top of its driveway with the serene, spectral presence of a 20-foot-tall alabaster head of a young girl, “Sanna,” crafted by famed Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025
Artefacts, including fragments of alabaster jars which bore the inscriptions of the names of Thutmose II and Hatshepsut, provided definitive evidence.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2025
No lotus or twining marsh flower traced itself slowly upon an alabaster vase.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
