purulent

[pyoor-uh-luhnt, pyoor-yuh-]

adjective

1. full of, containing, forming, or discharging pus; suppurating.

   a purulent sore.

2. attended with suppuration.

   purulent appendicitis.

3. of the nature of or like pus.

   purulent matter.

purulent

/ ˈpjʊərʊlənt /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or containing pus

Other Word Forms

• purulently adverb
• nonpurulent adjective
• nonpurulently adverb
• purulence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of purulent¹

1590–1600; < Latin pūrulentus, equivalent to pūr-, stem of pūs pus + -ulentus -ulent

Word History and Origins

Origin of purulent¹

C16: from Latin pūrulentus, from _pus

Example Sentences

"She had a string of purulent nasal discharge hanging from her right nostril and had an accumulation of green discharge in her eyes," the inspector’s report reads.

From Fox News

"She had a string of purulent nasal discharge hanging from her right nostril and had an accumulation of green discharge in her eyes," the report reads.

From Fox News

At that time, the sore was as wide as a grapefruit and had “copious purulent drainage, foul smell and bleeding,” Dorsey’s lawyers argue.

From Salon

Cyanosis was also a hallmark of the pneumonias associated with the Spanish flu – an observation that persuaded doctors writing in the Lancet in 1919 that it and purulent bronchitis had been “fundamentally the same condition”.

From The Guardian

“What came out of Italy – that was so purulent, so disgusting – felt like this wound that we stabbed the finger in and is so sick, that it needs to be healed,” Argento said.

From The Guardian

Related Words

• corrupt 
• disgusting 
• moldy 
• noxious 
• overripe 
• putrid 
• rancid 
• rotting www.thesaurus.com
• sour 
• spoiled 
• stale