sunburn
Americannoun
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sunburns
plural
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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Technical name: erythema solare. inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to the sun
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another word for suntan
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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sunburntadjective
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unsunburnedadjective
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unsunburntadjective
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well-sunburnedadjective
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well-sunburntadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sunburn
Vocabulary lists containing sunburn
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.
See Examples For:
"As a result, many apples are dropping from the trees prematurely, remaining very small, or suffering from sunburn damage," the agency said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
She had taken a photo of her burned skin; Miller claims that that was a sunburn.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
Zinc oxide is widely used in mineral sunscreen because it blocks UVA rays, which contribute to skin aging, as well as UVB rays, which cause sunburn and increase the risk of skin cancer.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
It brings the risk of impacts to health, especially for vulnerable people, and the danger of sunburn and heat exhaustion in the wider population.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
His face had gone very pale under its sunburn.
From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit
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Although many people associate UV light with sunburns and skin damage, it plays an important role in numerous technologies.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
Wearing white cowboy hats and sunburns, they were there to scout sites for future artwork, which they would go on to build, blast out and assemble on an epic scale over the next decade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
There are currently claims that seed oils cause cancer, gut issues and depression, or can leave you with chronic inflammation or make you more vulnerable to sunburns.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2024
Heat-related illnesses can range from sunburns and heat rashes to more dangerous conditions such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke, according to the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2023
Current Mr. O’Doyle was much larger, with less hair and red peeling skin from sunburns.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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Whispers were going around the sunburned, sleepy crowds huddled on their suitcases that there were no flights until Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
Four hours later, sunburned and more winded than I like to admit, I reached a hamlet where I later hitched a ride back to the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2025
You should not put petroleum jelly or ice on sunburned skin.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2025
A group of older sunburned guys, arms overloaded with coolers and fishing gear, jogged awkwardly toward a party fishing boat that appeared to be on the verge of pulling out for the night.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2024
A thwack on Frank’s back from a guy a full head taller than him, with a thick beard, a loud voice, and a face sunburned bright red just like Frank’s.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
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"There is one thing we all agree on, that you've got to avoid sunburning and avoid overexposure," he said.
From Reuters ● Apr. 19, 2010
If thou canst love a fellow of this temper, Kate, whose face is not worth sunburning, that never looks in his glass for love of anything he sees there, let thine eye be thy cook.
From The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
“An’ did ye see the murthering baste?” cried Dinny, who looked white through his sunburning.
From Off to the Wilds Being the Adventures of Two Brothers by Henri Théophile Hildibrand
“Dinny! how can you!” cried Jack, angrily, as he saw the tears start into his brother’s eyes, and that in spite of the sunburning he turned haggard and pale.
From Off to the Wilds Being the Adventures of Two Brothers by Henri Théophile Hildibrand
It is so desirable to make outbuildings neat and clean, and so important to keep trees from sunburning, etc., that a durable whitewash as cheaply and easily made as possible is very important.
From One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered by Edward J. (Edward James) Wickson
Would you buy a cauliflower that looks like it's been sunburnt or a cucumber that's curled back on itself?
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
We depend on our cells being able to divide and multiply, whether it's to replace sunburnt skin or replenish our blood supply and recover from injury.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 2024
Legs tucked underneath me as my head lolled to the side, my whole body buzzed with sunburnt warmth and fatigue from a day of walking through echo-y museum hallways and cobblestoned streets across Paris.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2023
Mom is claiming that getting sunburnt is a necessary condition for spending all day in the sun.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
His cheeks looked slightly sunburnt and his lips a bit chapped.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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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.