pustule
Americannoun
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Pathology. a small elevation of the skin containing pus.
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any pimplelike or blisterlike swelling or elevation.
noun
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a small inflamed elevated area of skin containing pus
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any small distinct spot resembling a pimple or blister
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pustule
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin pūstula, pūsula a pimple, blister; akin to Greek phȳsaléos inflated
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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.
Each pustule contains live virus, and a ruptured blister can contaminate bed linens and other items, putting close contacts at risk.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022
Then, once the patient developed a cowpox lesion—a pustule that took about a week to form— the physician would scrape pus from the first patient’s lesion into another patient’s incision.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2020
BCG often causes a pustule at the injection site that may persist for months, usually resulting in a scar.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 23, 2020
Scabies broke out among the inmates, and a golf-ball-size pustule grew on Hossein’s nose.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 3, 2018
Druzmilla added, “Yeah. That little pustule loves the taste of trash. That’s what she’s after. Snacks.”
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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.
