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Synonyms

shaven

American  
[shey-vuhn] / ˈʃeɪ vən /

verb

  1. a past participle of shave.

adjective

  1. closely trimmed.

shaven British  
/ ˈʃeɪvən /

adjective

    1. closely shaved or tonsured

    2. ( in combination )

      clean-shaven
"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

Other Word Forms

  • unshaven adjective

Etymology

Origin of shaven

First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective

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.

Smith is described by police as white, bald, and clean shaven.

From BBC • Nov. 5, 2025

The Sheriff’s Department is looking for the suspect, who was described as a Black male, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, 180 pounds and with a shaven head.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025

And then there are the images of the migrants deported to a notorious El Salvador prison, shackled one behind the other in prison garb, their heads bowed and shaven.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2025

This included FFP3 facemasks which require users to be clean shaven.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2024

Once clean shaven and conservatively groomed, he now had a beard and longish hair and affected the military-style clothing characteristic of freedom fighters around the continent.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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.