cosmetic
adjEtymology
From French cosmétique, from Ancient Greek κοσμητική (kosmētikḗ, “the art of dress and ornament”), κοσμητικός (kosmētikós), from κοσμητής (kosmētḗs, “orderer, director, decorator”), from κοσμέω (kosméō, “to order, to arrange, to rule, to adorn, to equip, to dress, to embellish”), from κόσμος (kósmos, “order”). By surface analysis, cosmos + -etic.
- derived from κοσμητική
- derived from cosmétique
Definitions
Imparting or improving beauty, particularly the beauty of the complexion.
- a cosmetic preparation
- Firſt, rob'd in white, the nymph intent adores / With head uncover'd, the coſmetic pow'rs.
External or superficial
External or superficial; pertaining only to the surface or appearance of something.
- Fortunately, the damage to the house was mostly cosmetic and a bit of paint covered it nicely.
Any substances applied to enhance the external color or texture of the skin, e.g.…
Any substances applied to enhance the external color or texture of the skin, e.g. lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner.
- These endocrine disruptors are everywhere: plastics, shampoos, cosmetics, cushions, pesticides, canned foods and A.T.M. receipts. They often aren’t on labels and can be difficult to avoid.
›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer
A feature existing only on the surface.
An intangible influence that improves the overall perception of some thing or situation.
- All depends upon circumstances—anger as much as any thing else. Interest is your only true cosmetic for smoothing the brow.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for cosmetic. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA