From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtonsureton‧sure /ˈtɒnʃə $ ˈtɑːnʃər/ noun [countable]RRHBH a small round area on the top of someone’s head where their hair has been removed because they are a priest or a monk —tonsured adjective his tonsured head
Examples from the Corpus
tonsure• The older boy, leaner and more muscular, has shorter hair and a small skull-cap which may conceal a tonsure.• Perhaps the guy has a heat sensor where his tonsure should be.• And if you want funny peculiar, simply gaze upon Thierry Boutsen's reverse-flip bird's-nest tonsure.• Tuda wore a Petrine tonsure and observed the Roman Easter.• He had others in his grizzled russet tonsure, dropped from the higher branches as the wind stirred them.• He was balding fast, with a monk's tonsure.Origin tonsure (1300-1400) Latin tonsura, from tondere; TONSORIAL 