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Showing results for charnel. Search instead for charnu.
Synonyms

charnel

American  
[chahr-nl] / ˈtʃɑr nl /

noun

  1. a repository for dead bodies.


adjective

  1. of, like, or fit for a charnel; deathlike; sepulchral.

charnel British  
/ ˈtʃɑːnəl /

noun

  1. short for charnel house

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. ghastly; sepulchral; deathly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of charnel

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin carnāle, noun and adjective use of neuter of carnālis carnal

Vocabulary lists containing charnel

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Scaled up to a necropolis, it could make the right impression, a modernist Hooverville of death in the shadow of our great national charnel house of inaction.

From Washington Post May 25, 2022

Above their heads: a charnel house of endangered trees.

From Scientific American Dec. 15, 2021

The consignment of Vietnamese civilian war wounded to provincial hospitals that were little better than charnel houses has been a national scandal for the United States.

From New York Times Oct. 21, 2021

How and which stories about Black life rise to prominence in mainstream culture is a discussion that's been running for decades, but this charnel house of a year gave it new life.

From Salon Dec. 16, 2020

Who does not recollect," said the Temps, "even though he had seen it but one moment, the square, no, the charnel of the Tour St. Jacques?

From History of the Commune of 1871 by P. Lissagary

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