adjective
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appearing suddenly and spreading quickly like a fungus, but not lasting
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a less common word for fungal
Etymology
Origin of fungous
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin fungōsus “fungous, spongy”; see fungus, -ous
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.
His treatment of the humid cellar, full of unexplained vapors and “white fungous growths,” cues immediate recognition and revulsion.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2015
Dr. Cowdell, of London, in 1848, published 'A Disquisition on Pestilential Cholera, being an attempt to explain its phenomena, nature, cause, prevention and treatment, by reference to an extrinsic fungous origin.'
From American Pomology Apples by J. A. Warder
Some of the corn became affected with a fungous disease called "smut," and part of that crop was worthless.
From Two Boy Gold Miners or, Lost in the Mountains by Frank V. Webster
Another very curious example of fungous vegetation, in a situation where its existence was not until recently suspected, is presented in the process of fermentation.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 354, April 1845 by Various
It has been suggested by some that bacterial infection, and by others that a fungous growth on the bean, is responsible, but no evidence has been brought forward to support either assumption.
From Food Poisoning by Edwin Oakes Jordan
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.
