tanorexic
noun
tan·o·rex·ic
ˌta-nə-ˈrek-sik 
plural tanorexics
: a person who is obsessed with having and maintaining a very dark tan
According to psychologists familiar with this phenomenon, the typical tanorexic is a young woman. In general, she seldom if ever feels she is tan enough.—
Robert Brody, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 June 1991
Robert Brody, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 June 1991Tanorexics, it is now well known, are excellent candidates for skin cancer.—Scott Harris, Springfield (Massachusetts) Union-News, 31 Aug. 1989
Scott Harris, Springfield (Massachusetts) Union-News, 31 Aug. 1989
tanorexic
adjective
Advocates are using the headline-grabbing case of the tanorexic New Jersey mom to push the New York state Senate for approval of a bill banning anyone under 18 from using tanning beds.
—Kenneth Lovett, Daily News (New York), 11 May 2012
Kenneth Lovett, Daily News (New York), 11 May 2012
She thinks that being slightly tanorexic is about being trendy and beautiful, right here, right now.
—Elyssa Andrus, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), 24 June 2002
Elyssa Andrus, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), 24 June 2002
Word History
Etymology
blend of tan entry 2 and anorexic entry 2
First Known Use
1987, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near tanorexic
Cite this Entry
“Tanorexic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tanorexic. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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