necrotic

[ nuh-krot-ik, ne- ]

adjective

1. (of animal or plant tissue) dead or dying:

   Treatment includes prompt and extensive surgical debridement of all necrotic tissue and removal of foreign bodies from the wound, accompanied by appropriate antibiotic therapy.

Other Words From

• post·ne·crot·ic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of necrotic¹

necr(osis) ( def ) + -otic ( def )

Example Sentences

You are aware it is hot — it smells hot, which isn’t something easy to explain — but then transcends its smell into something necrotic.

From Washington Post

In the next field over, rows of young iceberg lettuce seedlings were ribbed with streaks of tawny brown—the mark of the impatiens necrotic spot virus, or INSV, which has been wreaking havoc on Salinas lettuce since the mid-aughts.

From MIT Technology Review

Related Words

• dangerous
• destructive
• devastating
• fatal
• harmful
• malignant
• mortal
• murderous
• noxious
• pernicious
• poisonous
• virulent