ashen

¹

[ ash-uhn ]

adjective

1. ash-colored; gray.

   Synonyms: ashy

2. extremely pale; drained of color; pallid:

   His face was ashen.

   Synonyms: colorless, pasty

3. consisting of ashes.

ashen

²

[ ash-uhn ]

adjective

1. pertaining to the ash tree or its timber.
2. made of wood from the ash tree.

ashen

¹

/ ˈæʃən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or made from the ash tree or its timber

ashen

²

/ ˈæʃən /

adjective

1. drained of colour; pallid
2. consisting of or resembling ashes
3. of a pale greyish colour

Word History and Origins

Origin of ashen¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; ash ¹, -en ²

Origin of ashen²

before 1000; Middle English, Old English; ash ², -en ²

Example Sentences

As Jensen used a window screen to sift the safe’s ashen contents for diamonds and stones, his wife Dawn DaMart wandered the blackened foundation searching for tokens of the couple’s life before the Mountain fire.

From Los Angeles Times

Within months of the Thomas fire, bouquets of bright green shoots studded the bare, ashen mountainsides lining Highway 33.

From Los Angeles Times

That’s the message that a furious and ashen Trump delivered when he emerged from the courtroom where a jury of seven men and five women gave the prosecution all it asked for by convicting him on 34 felony counts.

From Los Angeles Times

When Eric Trump walked out during the morning break—before most of these fireworks had even happened—he looked absolutely ashen.

From Slate

We never see John at a doctor’s office, but we get a look at his packed medicine cabinet and we see him getting more ashen as the picture goes on.

From New York Times