Standard Lemma guide

afro

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈæf.ɹoʊ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AE1 F R OW0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A hairstyle characterized by tightly curled locks and a rounded shape.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person of African ancestry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Alternative form of afro.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a rounded thickly curled hairdo

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Afro hairdo

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hairdo, hairstyle, hair style, coiffure, coif

History

Etymology

From Afro-. In relation to the sense 2, see latino and anglo.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: أفرو (ʔafro) — hairstyle
  • Chinese Cantonese: 爆炸頭 /爆炸头 (baau3 zaa3 tau4) — hairstyle
  • Chinese Cantonese: 爆炸裝 /爆炸装 (baau3 zaa3 zong1) — hairstyle
  • Chinese Mandarin: 阿福羅頭 /阿福罗头 (āfúluótóu) — hairstyle
  • Chinese Mandarin: 非洲頭 /非洲头 (fēizhōutóu) — hairstyle
  • Finnish: afro — hairstyle
  • Finnish: afrokampaus — hairstyle
  • French: afro — hairstyle
  • German: Afrolook — hairstyle
  • German: Afro — hairstyle
  • Japanese: アフロヘアー (afuroheā) — hairstyle
  • Japanese: アフロ (afuro) — hairstyle
  • Polish: afro — hairstyle
  • Portuguese: afro — hairstyle
  • Portuguese: black power — hairstyle
  • Russian: а́фро (áfro) — hairstyle
  • Spanish: afro — hairstyle
  • Swedish: afro — hairstyle
  • Thai: แอโฟร (ɛɛ-fróo) — hairstyle