Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An inflammatory disease of the sebaceous glands and hair follicles of the skin that is marked by the eruption of pimples or pustules, especially on the face.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An eruption occurring most frequently on the face, and on the shoulders and chest, about the period of puberty.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) A pustular affection of the skin, due to changes in the sebaceous glands.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun pathology 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.
  • noun A pattern of blemishes in an area of skin resulting from the skin condition.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin; characterized by papules or pustules or comedones

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin, probably from misreading of Greek akmē, point, facial eruption; see acme.]

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