scrofulous

[skrof-yuh-luhs]

adjective

1. pertaining to, resembling, of the nature of, or affected with scrofula.

2. morally tainted.

ˈscrofulous

/ ˈskrɒfjʊləs /

adjective

1. of, relating to, resembling, or having scrofula

2. morally degraded

Other Word Forms

• scrofulously adverb
• scrofulousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrofulous¹

First recorded in 1605–15; scroful(a) + -ous

Example Sentences

The critic Elizabeth Hardwick called biography “a scrofulous cottage industry,” adding that it was rarely redeemed by “some equity between the subject and the author.”

Read more on New York Times

But there was nevertheless a certain suggestion of holding court: visitors queued up to be transformed by art, like the scrofulous awaiting the king’s touch.

Read more on The Guardian

We still shun the scrofulous and cleave to the healthy.

Read more on Forbes

Darlene put the cage on the bar and uncovered a huge, scrofulous rose cockatoo that looked, like a used car, as if it had passed through the hands of many owners.

Read more on Literature

One meets few or none of those figures and faces—small, scrofulous, squinny, and haggard—which disgrace the civilisation of a British city.

Read more on Project Gutenberg