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# cosmetic

«cosmetic» in Mova's school dictionary: **things like make-up, face cream and lipstick that people…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (cosmetic); noun (cosmetics — usually plural)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Cosmetics are things like make-up, face cream and lipstick that people put on to look nicer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#m1)

2) (adjective) Cosmetic means done only to improve how something looks, not how it works: «a cosmetic change». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#m2)

3) Cosmetic surgery is an operation to change how someone looks. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life it is about make-up and appearance. In discussions it can mean shallow: a cosmetic change does not fix the real problem. Phrases: «cosmetic surgery», «purely cosmetic», «cosmetics counter».

### examples

- Mum keeps her cosmetics in a little bag. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#x1)
- The scratch on the car is only cosmetic. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#x2)
- They gave the room a cosmetic makeover with new paint. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#x3)
- Some cosmetics are tested to make sure they are safe for skin. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#x4)
- Changing the name was just a cosmetic change. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#x5)
- Cosmetic surgery can change the shape of a nose. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/#x6)

### note

The noun is usually plural: cosmetics. «Purely cosmetic» means it doesn't really matter for how something works. Not related to «cosmic».

### In the corpora

- ["Had some work done" means had cosmetic surgery, operations on the face or body that change how a person looks.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/9-age-looks-and-size/19/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «cosmetic» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cosmetic/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.