scarred

American  

[skahrd] / skɑrd /

adjective

1. having a scar left by a healed wound, sore, or burn.

   He is tall and well-built, with a badly scarred face where he was bitten by a shark.

2. experiencing the psychological aftereffects of suffering or trauma.

   The main character endures childhood abuse and grows up to be a deeply scarred individual who thinks the whole world is against him.

3. (of a wound, burn, etc.) having formed a scar in healing.

   As healing progresses, the patient must be weaned away from needing a gauze wrap on the closed, scarred wound.

4. blemished or marred as a result of damage or use.

   Empty corrugated-iron buildings lie amidst a scarred landscape full of rubble.

   They furnished their first apartment with a used desk, a badly scarred table, and two old chairs with rickety legs.

5. Botany. bearing a mark indicating a former point of attachment, as where a leaf has fallen off.

   As the dieffenbachia ages, some of the lower leaves dry up and fall off, leaving a scarred stem that gradually lengthens.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of scar.

Other Word Forms

• unscarred adjective

Etymology

Origin of scarred

First recorded in 1425–75; scar ¹ + -ed ² for the adjective senses; scar ¹ + -ed ¹ for the verb sense

Explanation

Something that's scarred is beat up, showing marks of wear or injury. The scarred wooden floors in the old school show that generations of kids have walked on them. The adjective scarred describes something that's been hurt and shows some physical evidence of it. Your battle-scarred tabby cat might be missing a few whiskers and have a couple of nicks in his ears, and your knees might be scarred from falling off your bike. You can even be scarred in non-physical but lasting and serious ways, like being emotionally scarred by a breakup or a friend's betrayal. Being scarred this way might make you more cautious in the future.

Example Sentences

Over the last two decades, the national team at different levels has been scarred by a series of events in which players, and even almost entire squads, have disappeared either before or after games abroad.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

The president is nonetheless reputed to have brought a degree of stability back to the country scarred by civil war in the 1990s and to a region plagued by conflict.

From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026

Last year, retail investors outperformed professionals, by wading into the market when the pros were scarred by tariff worries.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 19, 2026

And it plucks a nerve in a country still scarred by its history of militarism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

“But that was only on the outside,” the scarred woman said, her huge shoulders slumping.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

Related Words

• awry
• bowed
• contorted
• damaged
• disfigured
• gnarled
• mangled
• misshapen
• twisted
• warped