ashen

¹ American  

[ash-uhn] / ˈæʃ ən /

adjective

1. ash-colored; gray.

   Synonyms:

   ashy

2. extremely pale; drained of color; pallid.

   His face was ashen.

   Synonyms:

   colorless, pasty

3. consisting of ashes.

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ashen ² American  

[ash-uhn] / ˈæʃ ən /

adjective

1. pertaining to the ash tree or its timber.

2. made of wood from the ash tree.

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ashen ¹ British  

/ ˈæʃən /

adjective

1. drained of colour; pallid

2. consisting of or resembling ashes

3. of a pale greyish colour

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ashen ² British  

/ ˈæʃən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or made from the ash tree or its timber

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Etymology

Origin of ashen¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at ash ¹, -en ²

Origin of ashen²

before 1000; Middle English, Old English; see ash ², -en ²

Explanation

Use the word ashen to describe the pale face of someone who is shocked and upset. Your best friend might look ashen when he hears that his favorite baseball team traded its star player. The adjective ashen was first used to describe ashes, the powdery substance left over when something burns, but it soon came to mean things that have the same pale, lifeless color as ashes. Like wood or coal that starts out brown or black and loses all color in the ashes that remain, things that are ashen are pale, washed out, or even colorless. Ashen is most often applied to the complexions of those facing stressful situations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ashen

“Black milk of dawn,” “your golden hair Margarete,” “your ashen hair Shulamit”: the poem sets German culture and Jewish annihilation to a cadence so memorable that its memorability becomes part of its danger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

Legislators looked ashen and somber, and one of their number, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., declared it “one of the most troubling things” he’d ever witnessed.

From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2025

As Jensen used a window screen to sift the safe’s ashen contents for diamonds and stones, his wife Dawn DaMart wandered the blackened foundation searching for tokens of the couple’s life before the Mountain fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024

When Eric Trump walked out during the morning break—before most of these fireworks had even happened—he looked absolutely ashen.

From Slate ● May 7, 2024

She couldn’t bear the thought of Tía being dead, and she had to look away from the old woman’s slack, ashen face.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz