Meaning & use
pocked face
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Meanings
nouncountable
A face marked with many small hollows or pits, especially from old acne scars or a disease.
Grammar: Countable; use a/an or a plural: a pocked face, pocked faces.
Patterns
- a pocked face
- have a pocked face
- leave someone with a pocked face
Years of severe acne had left him with a pocked face.
The illness can leave a pocked face if it is not treated early.
In the portrait, her pocked face is painted without flattery.
nouncountablefigurative
A surface covered with small holes or craters, compared to a face.
Grammar: Usually in the pattern a pocked face of something; more common in writing than speech.
Patterns
- the pocked face of something
From the plane we saw the pocked face of the old mining valley.
The moon's pocked face glowed above the ridge.
Word forms
| plural | pocked faces |
|---|
Common combinations
- a badly pocked face
- He hid his badly pocked face behind a scarf.
- a pocked face from acne
- Teenagers with a pocked face from acne often feel self-conscious.
- a deeply pocked face
- The old sailor had a deeply pocked face and a rough voice.
- leave a pocked face
- Chickenpox can leave a pocked face in adults.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pitted
- Describes the same small hollows but is used mostly of surfaces and objects, not people's faces.
- scarred
- Focuses on the marks left by injury or illness; it does not always mean small round pits.
- pockmarked
- Very close in meaning, but it is one word and can describe any surface, not only a face.
Opposites
Word family
- pockmark noun
- A single small hollow or scar on the skin.
- pockmarked adjective
- Covered with small hollows or scars.
- pocked adjective
- Marked with small holes or pits.
Commonly confused: pocked face or pocket face?
pocked face vs pocket face
A pocket face is not a standard phrase; pocket is about a small bag or pouch, so do not confuse the two words.
Practice
Which sentence uses "pocked face" correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase is a countable noun, so it needs an or an: a pocked face. Option 2 drops the article, option 3 turns the adjective into a verb, and option 4 puts the words in the wrong order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pocked face”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.