excrescence
Americannoun
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an abnormal outgrowth, usually harmless, on an animal or vegetable body.
The patient had moles, swollen red dots, and other excrescences all over the body.
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a normal outgrowth, as hair or horns.
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any disfiguring addition.
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abnormal growth or increase.
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Phonetics. the insertion or addition of a sound, usually a consonant, as a result of articulatory interaction without grammatical or historical justification, like the t-sound in prince or the p-sound in hamster.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of excrescence
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; from Latin excrēscentia; see excrescent, -ence
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.
The ceiling was unbreached, the man said, and added, a little starchily, that the excrescence clearly was what it appeared to be.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 28, 2021
Things didn't improve from there, with The Observer calling it "shameless excrescence" in 2017.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2018
Its head is a sculptural confection of broken cycles, its rear a writhing excrescence of black rubber loops.
From Economist ● Oct. 26, 2017
“It is the most absorbing of occupations, the least satisfying of desires, an aimless excrescence upon life. It annihilates a man.”
From The Guardian ● Sep. 14, 2016
His tumor is therefore a morbid growth, a new formation, a neoplasm or pseudoplasm, rather than a swelling, a bunch, or an excrescence.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
