cadaverous

[ kuh-dav-er-uhs ]

adjective

1. of or like a corpse.
2. pale; ghastly.
3. haggard and thin.

cadaverous

/ kəˈdævərəs /

adjective

1. of or like a corpse, esp in being deathly pale; ghastly
2. thin and haggard; gaunt

Derived Forms

• caˈdaverousness, noun
• caˈdaverously, adverb

Other Words From

• ca·daver·ous·ly adverb
• ca·daver·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadaverous¹

First recorded in 1620–30, cadaverous is from the Latin word cadāverōsus like a corpse. See cadaver, -ous

Example Sentences

The first three occurred during major surgeries decades earlier, when doctors cooled his body to cadaverous temperatures and stopped his heart to repair major arteries weakened by an inherited disorder called Marfan syndrome.

From Washington Post

A lean, cadaverous boy from along the mountain, a born enemy of the lads of the village, had dared me.

From Project Gutenberg

Caroline's first child is a pale, cadaverous little girl that will not live.

From Project Gutenberg

He had a particularly imperturbable butler with a cadaverous sad face and an eye of rigid disapproval.

From Project Gutenberg

The cadaverous man in the blue jacket turned to the man in the black garment of similar cut.

From Project Gutenberg

"Capitalistic dictatorships, he means," the cadaverous man in the blue jacket explained.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Cadaverous

What does cadaverous mean?

Cadaverous is used to describe a person who looks as if they were dead, such as someone who looks especially thin, pale, or bony.

Cadaverous is an adjective form of cadaver—a dead body, especially a dead human body. The word cadaver is sometimes used interchangeably with the word corpse, but cadaver is especially used in a scientific context to refer to a body that is the subject of scientific study or medical use, such as one that will be dissected.

However, cadaverous is not used in a technical way. It’s typically used in fiction stories to describe characters who are particularly pale and thin, especially when they’re a bit spooky. Describing a real person as cadaverous is never nice and can be very offensive.

Cadaverous is most commonly used to describe people, but it can be used to describe other things, such as buildings or organizations.

Example: Dressed in all black, the cadaverous butler added to the feeling of decay that seemed to haunt the old mansion.

Where does cadaverous come from?

The first records of the word cadaverous come from the 1600s. It comes from the Latin cadāverōsus, meaning “like a corpse,” from cadāver, “corpse,” from the Latin verb cadere, “to perish.”

A character who’s described as cadaverous looks like a walking corpse—they’re often pale and very thin. Such a person could also be described as skeletal. These words are often used in stories, but applying them to real people can be very insulting.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to cadaverous?

• cadaver (noun)

What are some synonyms for cadaverous?

• cadaverlike
• skeletal

What are some words that share a root or word element with cadaverous? 

 

• cadaverine

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing cadaverous?

 

• thin
• pale
• wan
• skin
• old
• dead
• body
• corpse

How is cadaverous used in real life?

Cadaverous is most commonly used in descriptions of fictional characters. Describing a real person as cadaverous is very insulting.

Speaking of #GustaveDoré, ever seen that bunch of monks in Annaud's film version of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose and thought "arrg…so creepy"? Well they're nothing compared to the cadaverous Carthusians surrounding the newbie in Doré's 1875 #engraving The Neophyte. Yikes pic.twitter.com/u8hWXrxYwW

— Joel Merriner (@JoelMerriner) August 1, 2019

“Like all great men, Kant died without any sweat. Only his eye was rigid, writes Wasianski, writes de Quincey, and his face and lips became discolored by a cadaverous pallor—and that was all.”

New fiction from Danielle Dutton! Read the full piece here: https://t.co/pyfUonvZ4p pic.twitter.com/O4Zj08JQRM

— Chicago Review (@chireview) November 20, 2020

A cadaverous cyan pheasant-like troll, with a sticky tongue and the head of a penguin, that lives in a swamp and is afraid of its own young.

— Build Me A Beast! (@BuildMeABeast) January 3, 2021

 

 

Try using cadaverous!

Which of the following words could be used to describe a character who is said to be cadaverous?

A. thin
B. pale
C. bony
D. all of the above