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Synonyms

clean-shaven

American  
[kleen-shey-vuhn] / ˈklinˈʃeɪ vən /

adjective

  1. (of a man) having the beard and mustache shaved off.

clean-shaven British  

adjective

  1. (of men) having the facial hair shaved off

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of clean-shaven

First recorded in 1860–65

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.

For generations, this imposing photograph of a clean-shaven Abraham Lincoln—age 51 and at the crest of newfound national fame—inexplicably remained an orphan in the Lincoln visual canon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

At the windows, clean-shaven faces cast curious glances at the journalists in the compound.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

It’s not just his burly 6-foot-4 frame, his clean-shaven head or the boldly patterned, brightly colored Hawaiian shirts he’s adopted as an unofficial uniform.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2025

They are short, tall, flabby, lean, clean-shaven, bearded, bald and pony-tailed.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2024

I like my Dad clean-shaven and wearing a suit.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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.