vitiligo
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vitiligo
1650–60; < Latin vitilīgō form of skin eruption, apparently equivalent to *vitil ( is ) defective ( vit ( ium ) blemish + -ilis -ile ) + -īgō noun suffix
Explanation
A skin condition that results in pale patches on a person's skin is called vitiligo. Once vitiligo first appears, it often spreads to other parts of the body. There's no known cure for vitiligo, which has no physical symptoms aside from a loss of pigmentation, or color, on a person's skin. The difficult part of having vitiligo is that people can be stigmatized or bullied for looking different. Recently, however, more companies have been using models with vitiligo in ad campaigns to show that looking different is beautiful.
Vocabulary lists containing vitiligo
Unfadeable
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How to Disappear Completely
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Boy 2.0
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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.
Forte recently reported results of an early-stage clinical trial for the drug that showed a significant treatment benefit in skin condition vitiligo, building on data released last year for another study in celiac disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
An Instagram account with millions of views shows a woman in swimsuits and gymwear whose body is bisected by vitiligo so she is exactly half white and half brown.
From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026
It comes after the BBC flagged dozens of profiles showing AI-generated images of women with disabilities, including Down's syndrome or vitiligo.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026
The Cay Skin founder, who is a spokesperson for the skin condition vitiligo, first connected with Kuzma in early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2025
It has all these horrible pictures, most of which I’m pretty sure have nothing to do with vitiligo, and says all these bogus things that aren’t true.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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.
