scrofulous
/ˈskɹɔfjələs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.38 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of, related to, or suffering from scrofula (form of tuberculosis tending to cause enlarged lymph nodes and skin inflammation).
Dated
adj
Having an unkempt, unhealthy appearance.
adj
Example Sentences
- "On the ſurface of the water there floats a liquid bitumen, although it be every day ſcummed off, as it doth on the lake Aſphaltites in Judæa: The Inhabitants uſe it as pitch: it is alſo found to be an excellent vulnerary, and good in curing old cacoethic and ſcrophulous ulcers."
- "The proſtate gland is ſometimes ſcrofulous. I have ſeen, in cutting into it, preciſely the ſame white curdly matter, which takes place in a ſcrofulous abſorbent gland. In ſqueezing it alſo, I have forced from out from its ducts a ſcrofulous pus."
- "Poor devil, he's gone to the dogs altogether. He's got some twopenny-halfpenny job in the medical at Alexandria—sanitary officer or something like that. I'm told he lives with an ugly old Greek woman and has half a dozen scrofulous kids."
- "[…] I wrestle with the events of the last two years, picking over the past, looking for the reasons why I find myself here, gazing across a multitude of day trippers, sunburned holidaymakers, squalling children, ignorant matrons perusing their puzzle magazines, scrofulous bank clerks surreptitiously kissing their new girlfriends on the lips as if amazed at their daring."
- "a scrofulous politician"
- "It is time, [Steve] Huffman concluded, for the “reprehensible” denizens of the Internet’s scrofulous “dark side” to find another home."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈskɹɔfjələs/
- British English: /ˈskɹɒfjʊləs/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more scrofulous (comparative)
most scrofulous (superlative)