cadaverous

American  

[kuh-dav-er-uhs] / kəˈdæv ər əs /

adjective

1. of or like a corpse.

2. pale; ghastly.

3. haggard and thin.

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cadaverous British  

/ kəˈdævərəs /

adjective

1. of or like a corpse, esp in being deathly pale; ghastly

2. thin and haggard; gaunt

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cadaverousness
  noun
• cadaverously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of cadaverous

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

Explanation

Cadaverous means looking corpse-like, from being sick or too skinny, like an aging rock star or a Halloween ghoul. The adjective cadaverous literally means "like a cadaver." It's from the Latin word, well, cadaver (dead body), that comes from another Latin word cadere meaning "to fall." That's some fall! You don't have to be dead to look cadaverous, though, if your cheeks are sunken and your ribs poke through your torn tee-shirt, you look cadaverous and it's not a compliment (unless you're a Goth). On Halloween, you might go for a cadaverous look with green-tinted makeup and black circles under your eyes.

Example Sentences

In cities like New York and San Francisco, cadaverous young men with lesions on their arms and faces were a frequent sight.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2024

Kawasaki had doubts about the promised future when her ferry arrived at a North Korean port and was met by hundreds of cadaverous people covered with soot from head to toe, she said.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 19, 2021

To test his theory, he ordered doctors to wash their hands and instruments in a chlorine solution, a substance he hoped would dispatch the deadly smell of cadaverous particles.

From The Guardian • Mar. 18, 2020

Mr. Wood’s cadaverous, perpetually abstracted character rarely seems to register what Erie’s saying.

From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2016

The cadaverous Volantene, Gorys Eidoryen, had replaced Strickland as paymaster.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin