sunburn
Americannoun
-
sunburns
plural
verb (used with or without object)
noun
-
Technical name: erythema solare. inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to the sun
-
another word for suntan
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
sunburntadjective
-
unsunburnedadjective
-
unsunburntadjective
-
well-sunburnedadjective
-
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:
"To go from thinking your child has sunburn to them having an extremely rare genetic disorder is mind-blowing," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
"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
I try not to look at the way his sunburn makes his eyes so blue.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
A few hundred yards up the road, there was an even bigger Danish corner, which came to include all types of Scandinavians in one giant collection of sunburns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
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
The desert can be hot and rough, but Giveon’s soothing baritone is a balm capable of healing sunburns and broken hearts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Camp counselor gigs that paid in bug spray and sunburns.
From Salon ● May 26, 2025
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
In the park, a sunburned figure itches an arm cast; another slumps on a bench, picking at his eyes.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
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
They ended up winning the whole thing, beating some of the nation’s best teams, despite the fact they’d stayed up late playing Heads Up and were sunburned from a beach visit the day before.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
Some are asking for help and advice, others actually want to show off their badly sunburned bodies.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025
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
"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
“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
“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
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
We would stay there for three or four hours, messing about in the water and in the rockpools and getting extraordinarily sunburnt.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
