scar

¹

[skahr]

noun

1. a mark left by a healed wound, sore, or burn.

2. a lasting aftereffect of trouble, especially a lasting psychological injury resulting from suffering or trauma.

3. any blemish remaining as a trace of or resulting from injury or use.

4. Botany.,  a mark indicating a former point of attachment, as where a leaf has fallen from a stem.

verb (used with object)

scarred, scarring 

1. to mark with a scar.

verb (used without object)

scarred, scarring 

1. to form a scar in healing.

scar

²

[skahr]

noun

British.

1. a precipitous, rocky place; cliff.

2. a low or submerged rock in the sea.

scar

¹

/ skɑː /

noun

1. any mark left on the skin or other tissue following the healing of a wound

2. a permanent change in a person's character resulting from emotional distress

   his wife's death left its scars on him

3. the mark on a plant indicating the former point of attachment of a part, esp the attachment of a leaf to a stem

4. a mark of damage; blemish

verb

1. to mark or become marked with a scar

2. (intr) to heal leaving a scar

scar

²

/ skɑː /

noun

1. an irregular enlongated trench-like feature on a land surface that often exposes bedrock

2. a similar formation in a river or sea

Other Word Forms

• scarless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scar¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; shortening of eschar

Origin of scar²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English scarre, skerre, from Old Norse sker skerry

Word History and Origins

Origin of scar¹

C14: via Late Latin from Greek eskhara scab

Origin of scar²

C14: from Old Norse sker low reef, _skerry

Example Sentences

The agreement says firefighters should “cold-trail charred logs near the fire line with minimal tool scarring” and “consider allowing large logs to burn out.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Abandoned for years, it is scarred by soot from a 2014 fire that gutted parts of the structure.

Read more on BBC

She says offering Marven for adoption "scarred" her, but she "wanted a better life for him".

Read more on BBC

It stands steps from the Eaton fire burn scar — untouched, but uninhabitable.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Pavements remain scarred by bullet holes and ruined buildings still line many streets, but the city's cacophony is now one of construction, not destruction.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• blister 
• crater 
• defect 
• discoloration 
• disfigurement 
• flaw 
• scab 
• wound