What does "scar" mean?
A permanent mark on the skin, sometimes caused by the healing of a wound.
Scar
/skɑɹ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A permanent mark on the skin, sometimes caused by the healing of a wound.
- Grammar: scar is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: cicatrix, cicatrice, mark, scratch.
- Useful contrasts: blisters, clear skin, comfort.
- Usage evidence: The tragedy left a scar on my mind.
How to use "scar"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scar" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scar" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scar" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scar" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scar" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cicatrix" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scar", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A permanent mark on the skin, sometimes caused by the healing of a wound.
- 2 A cliff or rock outcrop.
"O hark, O hear! how thin and clear, / And thinner, clearer, farther going! / O sweet and far from cliff and scar / The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!"
- 3 A marine food fish, the scarus or parrotfish (family Scaridae).
- 4 an indication of damage wordnet
- 5 A permanent negative effect on someone's mind, caused by a traumatic experience. broadly
"Thus, it is wise to avoid cultivating an emotional scar, as it can play havoc with your happiness and success."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A rock in the sea breaking out from the surface of the water.
- 7 a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue wordnet
- 8 Any permanent mark resulting from damage.
"Her age-old weapons, flood and fire, left scars on the canyon which time will never efface."
- 9 A bare rocky place on the side of a hill or mountain.
Verb
- 1 To mark the skin permanently. transitive
"Yet I'll not shed her blood; / Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow."
- 2 mark with a scar wordnet
- 3 To form a scar. intransitive
"Iron and coal were the magnets that drew railways to this land of lovely valleys and silent mountains—for such it was a century-and-a-half ago, before man blackened the valleys with the smoke of his forges, scarred the green hills with his shafts and waste-heaps, and drove the salmon from the quiet Rhondda and the murmuring Taff."
- 4 To affect deeply in a traumatic manner. figuratively, transitive
"Seeing his parents die in a car crash scarred him for life."
Example
"The tragedy left a scar on my mind."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scar"?
Common synonyms include: cicatrix, cicatrice, mark, scratch, battered, birthmark.
How do you use "scar" in a sentence?
The tragedy left a scar on my mind.
How do you pronounce "scar"?
Pronounced /skɑɹ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English scar, scarre, a conflation of Old French escare (“scab”) (from Late Latin eschara, from Ancient Greek ἐσχάρα (eskhára, “scab left from a burn”), and thus a doublet of eschar) and Middle English skar (“incision, cut, fissure”) (from Old Norse skarð (“notch, chink, gap”), from Proto-Germanic *skardaz (“gap, cut, fragment”)). Akin to Old Norse skor (“notch, score”), Old English sċeard (“gap, cut, notch”). More at shard. Displaced native Old English dolg, dolgswæþ, and wundswaþu (“scar”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English scarre, skarr, skerre, sker, a borrowing from Old Norse sker (“an isolated rock in the sea; skerry”). Cognate with Icelandic sker, Norwegian skjær, Swedish skär, Danish skær, German Schäre. Doublet of skerry and scaur.
Etymology 3
From Latin scarus (“a kind of fish”), from Ancient Greek σκάρος (skáros, “parrot wrasse, Sparisoma cretense, syn. Scarus cretensis”).