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lupus

1 American  
[loo-puhs] / ˈlu pəs /

noun

Pathology.

  1. lupus vulgaris.

  2. systemic lupus erythematosus.

Lupus 2 American  
[loo-puhs] / ˈlu pəs /

noun

Astronomy.

genitive

Lupi

  1. the Wolf, a southern constellation between Centaurus and Norma.

lupus 1 British  
/ ˈluːpəs /

noun

  1. any of various ulcerative skin diseases

"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
Lupus 2 British  
/ ˈluːpəs /

noun

  1. a constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Centaurus and Ara

"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
lupus Scientific  
/ lo̅o̅′pəs /

  1. See systemic lupus erythematosus

lupus Cultural  

  1. An autoimmune disease that tends to strike women more frequently than men. The disease attacks the body's connective tissues.

Usage

In current usage the word lupus alone is generally understood to signify lupus vulgaris, lupus erythematosus being normally referred to in full or by the abbreviation LE

Other Word Forms

  • lupous adjective

Etymology

Origin of lupus1

First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin, special use of Latin lupus “wolf”

Origin of Lupus2

From Latin

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 Choc Factory Co. makeup executive said she felt guilty that her daughter might also suffer from lupus, an autoimmune condition she was diagnosed with in childhood.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026

Fatigue, brain fog, headaches, and joint pain can be caused by anemia, sleep disorders, mental illnesses, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, ALS, fibromyalgia, cancer, and many other conditions.

From Slate • Dec. 19, 2025

CAR-T treatments have been a cancer breakthrough, and are beginning to make a dent in aut0-immune disorders like lupus and multiple sclerosis.

From Barron's • Dec. 9, 2025

A month later, Tidmarsh posted on LinkedIn his negative comments about voclosporin, used to treat lupus nephritis, a condition that can lead to kidney failure.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025

Henry detected the weariness in those purple eyes, the pallor beneath that glaze of lupus, the sadness at the corners of the unsmiling crimson mouth.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

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.