purulent
Americanadjective
-
full of, containing, forming, or discharging pus; suppurating.
a purulent sore.
-
attended with suppuration.
purulent appendicitis.
-
of the nature of or like pus.
purulent matter.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonpurulent adjective
- nonpurulently adverb
- purulence noun
- purulently adverb
Etymology
Origin of purulent
1590–1600; < Latin pūrulentus, equivalent to pūr-, stem of pūs pus + -ulentus -ulent
Explanation
Anything purulent is full of pus. Infected sores are often purulent; that's why Band Aids were invented. This is a gross-sounding word with a gross meaning: purulent things are full of pus (pussy). A purulent disease is one that generates a lot of pus, and a purulent sore contains or oozes pus. Other liquids that come from our bodies, like blood and urine, are not purulent. A purulent pimple is discharging pus. Also, this word is sometimes used to mean anything disgusting. A story that makes you feel sick could be called a purulent tale.
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.
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 • Sep. 10, 2018
“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 • Apr. 13, 2018
London has been known as the Great Wen for centuries: not so much a city as a giant purulent infection on the body of languishing England.
From The Guardian • Jun. 9, 2014
In his daymares, Bill is visited by beetles -- big ugly things, chatting away through purulent orifices -- that send him on a spy mission into the Tangier of his delirium.
From Time Magazine Archive
Or by their destructive action they may, when situated near the serous surfaces, penetrate into the serous cavities, and in this way indirectly occasion peritonitis, pleurisy, meningitis, and purulent inflammations of the joints.
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.
