noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A skin condition, usually of the face, that is common in adolescents. It is characterised by red pimples, and is caused by the inflammation of sebaceous glands through bacterial infection. uncountable, usually

   "He struggled with severe acne during his teenage years."

2. 2
   an inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin; characterized by papules or pustules or comedones wordnet
3. 3
   A pattern of blemishes in an area of skin resulting from the skin condition. uncountable, usually

Synonyms

All synonyms

acne vulgarisdermamycosisdermatitisdermatosiseczemaelephantiasis

Example

More examples

"Two weeks after being admitted to hospital my acne suddenly started to disappear."

Etymology

From New Latin acnē, probably a corruption of Ancient Greek ἀκμή (akmḗ, “point, top”).

Related phrases

acne conglobataacne cosmeticaacne inversaacne mechanicaacne neonatorumacne rosaceaacne varioliformisacne vulgarismask acneshadow acnesebaceous gland

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.