depilatory
Americanadjective
noun
-
a depilatory agent.
-
such an agent in a mild liquid or cream form for temporarily removing unwanted hair from the body.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depilatory
1595–1605; < Medieval Latin dēpilātōrius < Latin dēpilā ( re ) ( see depilate) + -tōrius -tory 1
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.
Since this is feel-good TV, McKinnon quietly strides over to the man and places a can of depilatory powder on his sink top, giving him a meaningful look before walking away.
From Salon • Oct. 10, 2025
Nair kicked off its famous “Nair for Short Shorts!” campaign in the ’70s, so any show about teenagers in the ’70s would be incomplete without a depilatory bonding scene.
From Slate • Feb. 8, 2021
Gottlieb was, in the early sixties, put in charge of a plan to depose Fidel Castro by making his beard fall out, but he couldn’t figure out how to deploy a depilatory.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 26, 2019
Instead, members come to the Wax Club on Chambers Street for hair removal, paying $89 each month, plus tax and gratuities, for unlimited depilatory services.
From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2016
I used to believe that the expression “caught by the short hairs” meant a captive held with a depilatory string.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
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.
