Meanings
nouncosmetics pl (plural only)
- pluralplural onlyThe way something looks; superficial appearance.
Near-synonym: cosmesis
1 more example
In the great fishbowl that we're doing everything in it's kind of unfortunate, but the cosmetics of the thing are more important than what's accomplished — in a great many ways.
2004, Lewis Sorley, Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972, page 194Synonyms: cosmesis
nouncosmetics (uncountable)
- uncountableThe study of such products.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounPreparations applied externally to change or enhance the beauty of skin, hair, nails, lips, and eyes.
Similar
nounThe way something looks; superficial appearance.
Similar
Also see
Origin
- Ancient Greekκοσμητική“the art of dress and ornament”
- Frenchcosmétique
- Englishcosmetics
From French cosmétique, from Ancient Greek κοσμητική (kosmētikḗ, “the art of dress and ornament”), from κοσμητικός (kosmētikós), an adjective of κοσμέω (kosméō, “to order, to arrange, to rule, to adorn, to equip, to dress, to embellish”).
More words from French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُسْتَحْضَرَاتُ التَّجْمِيل
- مُسْتَحْضَرَاتُ التَّجْمِيل (mustaḥḍarātu t-tajmīl)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Bengali প্রসাধনী
- প্রসাধনী (prośadhoni)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Bulgarian козме́тика
- козме́тика (kozmétika)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Catalan cosmètica, cosmètica
- cosmèticapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- cosmèticastudy of such products
Chinese Cantonese 化妝品 /化妆品
- 化妝品 /化妆品 (faa³ zong¹ ban²)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Chinese Mandarin 化妝品 /化妆品
- 化妝品 /化妆品 (huàzhuāngpǐn)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Czech kosmetika, šminky
- kosmetikapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- šminkypreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Danish kosmetik
- kosmetikpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Dutch cosmetica
- cosmeticapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Estonian kosmeetika
- kosmeetikapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Finnish ehostus, kosmetiikka
- ehostuspreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- kosmetiikkapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- kosmetiikkastudy of such products
French cosmétique, cosmétique
- cosmétiquepreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- cosmétiquestudy of such products
German Kosmetika, Kosmetik
- Kosmetikapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- Kosmetikstudy of such products
Greek καλλυντικά
- καλλυντικά (kallyntiká)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Hebrew קוֹסמֵטִיקָה
- קוֹסמֵטִיקָה (kosmétika)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Hindi सौंदर्य प्रसाधन, सौन्दर्य प्रसाधन
- सौंदर्य प्रसाधन (saundarya prasādhan)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
- सौन्दर्य प्रसाधन (saundarya prasādhan)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Hungarian kozmetikum, szépítőszer
- kozmetikumpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- szépítőszerpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- kozmetikastudy of such products
Icelandic snyrtivörur
- snyrtivörurpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Indonesian kosmetik
- kosmetikpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Irish cosmaid, cosmaidí
- cosmaidpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- cosmaidípreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Italian cosmetica, cosmesi
- cosmeticapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- cosmesipreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- cosmesistudy of such products
- cosmeticastudy of such products
Japanese 化粧品
- 化粧品 (keshōhin)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Korean 화장품
- 화장품 (hwajangpum)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Latin offūciae
- offūciaepreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Latvian kosmētika
- kosmētikapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Lithuanian kosmetika
- kosmetikapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Malay kosmetik
- kosmetikpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Norwegian Bokmål kosmetikk
- kosmetikkpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Polish kosmetyka, kosmetyka
- kosmetykapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- kosmetykastudy of such products
Portuguese cosméticos, cosmética
- cosméticospreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- cosméticastudy of such products
Romanian cosmetică
- cosmeticăpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Russian косме́тика, косме́тика
- косме́тика (kosmétika)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
- косме́тика (kosmétika)study of such products
Slovak kozmetika
- kozmetikapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Spanish cosmético, cosméticos
- cosméticopreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- cosméticospreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- cosméticastudy of such products
Swahili kipodozi
- kipodozipreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Swedish kosmetika
- kosmetikapreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Tagalog kosmetiko
- kosmetikopreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Thai เครื่องสำอาง
- เครื่องสำอาง (krʉ̂ʉang-sǎm-aang)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Turkish kozmetik
- kozmetikpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Ukrainian косме́тика
- косме́тика (kosmétyka)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Urdu سِن٘گھار کے سامان
- سِن٘گھار کے سامان (siṅghār ke sāmān)preparations to change or enhance the beauty
Vietnamese mĩ phẩm, mỹ phẩm
- mĩ phẩmpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
- mỹ phẩmpreparations to change or enhance the beauty
Cite this entry
APA
cosmetics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmetics
MLA
“cosmetics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmetics. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cosmetics,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmetics.
Source: cosmetics on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.