marmoreal

[ mahr-mawr-ee-uhl ]

adjective

1. of or like marble:

   skin of marmoreal smoothness.

marmoreal

/ mɑːˈmɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling marble

   a marmoreal complexion

Derived Forms

• marˈmoreally, adverb

Other Words From

• mar·mo·re·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of marmoreal¹

1790–1800; < Latin marmore ( us ) made of marble ( marble, -eous ) + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of marmoreal¹

C18: from Latin marmoreus, from marmor marble

Example Sentences

A copse outside a mine stands “coated in a marmoreal haze.”

From New York Times

The familiar words—“I like your shoes”—almost escaped her notice, since the sky behind them was the same marmoreal gray as the ice.

From The New Yorker

I could see Celeste’s thin, wet jacket clinging to her like the marmoreal drapery on a statue.

From The New Yorker

Over the centuries, many art restorers and dealers felt obliged to vigorously scrub Greek and Roman objects, so as to enhance their marmoreal gleam—and their collectibility.

From The New Yorker

The marmoreal perfections of its verse seemed to reflect the grand façades of the Roman state itself: Augustus boasted that he found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble.

From The New Yorker