Meaning & use
alabaster skin
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Meanings
noununcountableliterary
Skin that is very pale, smooth, and almost white, often described as beautiful.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable phrase; it usually appears with the or a possessive, as in her alabaster skin.
Patterns
- her alabaster skin
- his alabaster skin
- skin as pale as alabaster
The moonlight made her alabaster skin glow softly.
In the painting, the queen's alabaster skin contrasts with her dark hair.
He described the child's alabaster skin with poetic admiration.
noununcountablefigurative
A way of describing skin that looks unnaturally white or lacking color, sometimes suggesting illness.
Grammar: This figurative use often appears in negative or eerie descriptions, not in everyday compliments.
Patterns
- alabaster skin
- pale alabaster skin
After the long illness, his alabaster skin seemed almost transparent.
The vampire in the story had cold, alabaster skin.
Common combinations
- pale alabaster skin
- The artist painted her with pale alabaster skin.
- smooth alabaster skin
- The cream promised smooth alabaster skin.
- alabaster skin tone
- Her alabaster skin tone stood out in the sunlight.
- glowing alabaster skin
- The bride had glowing alabaster skin.
Synonyms and how they differ
- porcelain skin
- Similar meaning, but porcelain skin often suggests a slightly pinkish or delicate quality, while alabaster skin emphasizes whiteness and smoothness.
- ivory skin
- Close in meaning, but ivory skin is slightly warmer in tone and less purely white than alabaster skin.
- pallid skin
- This is more medical or negative, suggesting unhealthy paleness, whereas alabaster skin is usually admiring or poetic.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: alabaster skin or alabaster?
alabaster skin vs alabaster
Alabaster alone refers to the stone or to a color; alabaster skin specifically describes a person's skin.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'alabaster skin' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
Option B fits because 'alabaster skin' is a literary, admiring description of pale, smooth skin. Option An is too everyday and practical, and the phrase is usually poetic. Option C contradicts the meaning of smooth and pale. Option D is medical and positive, but alabaster skin is not a medical term for health.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “alabaster skin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.