sunburn
Americannoun
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:
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
Instead, he reverted to being the gangly 24-year-old from the Italian Alps hoping to avoid a sunburn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
While reaching 7 in late May isn't unheard of, it is rare and means that the time taken to get sunburn is significantly reduced.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
“I like to think of this as a sunburn: The first day you get it, it’s really bad. Day after day, it does get a little bit better, but there’s still a burn.”
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 26, 2026
The part in her hair flamed with sunburn.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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
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
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
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
You should not put petroleum jelly or ice on sunburned skin.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2025
But then he spots a sunburned civilian on the inside of the checkpoint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 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
I noticed the necklace had left a white ring around his sunburned neck.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
"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
“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 Hildibrand, Henri Théophile
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 Shakespeare, William
“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 Hildibrand, Henri Théophile
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 Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James)
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
The HSE says you should also avoid tanning if you get sunburnt easily, or have a family history of skin cancer.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2023
Mom is claiming that getting sunburnt is a necessary condition for spending all day in the sun.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
His shock of yellow sunburnt hair bobbed up and down as he skipped and jumped to the rhythm of the “dog boy” song.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
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.
