ashen-faced
Drained of color
Ashen-faced describes someone whose face has gone pale, typically from shock, fear, or illness.
The color drains away, leaving a grayish pallor like ash: He emerged from the meeting ashen-faced.
The term appears most often in narrative contexts describing visible distress.
Devoid of pigmentation
- bloodlessWithout shedding any gore
- chalkyPale and dusty-textured
- ghostlyResembling a specter
- grayNeutral achromatic hue
white · pale · pasty · waxen · deathly · cadaverous · blanched · sallow
Prone to poor health
- queasyMildly sick to stomach
- nauseousFeeling urge to vomit
- feverishHaving elevated temperature
- unwellExperiencing poor health
wan · pallid · clammy · sweating · faint · woozy · weak · drained
Extremely frightened
- petrifiedSolidified or fear-paralyzed
- horror-strickenOverwhelmed with intense fright
- panic-strickenOverwhelmed by intense fear
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
trembling · frozen · blanched · shaken · aghast · alarmed · spooked · startled
Troubled by uncertainty
- tenseStrained or nervous
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
- uneasyTroubled, not calm
distressed · stricken · fraught · anguished · distraught · troubled · panicked · dreading
Shocked into speechlessness
- dumbfoundedRendered speechless by surprise
- thunderstruckExtremely shocked or amazed
- shell-shockedMentally broken by combat
- reelingUnsteady from shock
staggered · floored · gobsmacked · jolted · speechless · stupefied · dazed · disbelief
colorless
Devoid of pigmentation
gray · white · pale · pasty · waxen · deathly · cadaverous · blanched · sallow · whitened
sickly
Prone to poor health
unwell · wan · pallid · clammy · sweating · faint · woozy · weak · drained · drawn
terrified
Extremely frightened
- petrifiedSolidified or fear-paralyzed
- horror-strickenOverwhelmed with intense fright
- panic-strickenOverwhelmed by intense fear
dread · trembling · frozen · blanched · shaken · aghast · alarmed · spooked · startled · frightened
worried
Troubled by uncertainty
- tenseStrained or nervous
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
uneasy · distressed · stricken · fraught · anguished · distraught · troubled · panicked · dreading · overwrought
stunned
Shocked into speechlessness
- dumbfoundedRendered speechless by surprise
- thunderstruckExtremely shocked or amazed
- shell-shockedMentally broken by combat
reeling · staggered · floored · gobsmacked · jolted · speechless · stupefied · dazed · disbelief · numb