Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for charnel. Search instead for starnel.
Synonyms

charnel

American  
[chahr-nl] / ˈtʃɑr nl /

noun

  1. a repository for dead bodies.


adjective

  1. of, like, or fit for a charnel; deathlike; sepulchral.

charnel British  
/ ˈtʃɑːnəl /

noun

  1. short for charnel house

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. ghastly; sepulchral; deathly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of charnel

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin carnāle, noun and adjective use of neuter of carnālis carnal

Vocabulary lists containing charnel

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.

See Examples For:

Out of this charnel house where an American flag hung at one end, technicians hoped to identify 388 sailors and Marines from the Oklahoma.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 8, 2024

Scaled up to a necropolis, it could make the right impression, a modernist Hooverville of death in the shadow of our great national charnel house of inaction.

From Washington Post May 25, 2022

Above their heads: a charnel house of endangered trees.

From Scientific American Dec. 15, 2021

I followed her out of the charnel house into a cold, heavy rain, spitting bile onto the pavement.

From New York Times Dec. 17, 2020

On the other hand, in ignominious confusion, far down in this dark, dreary charnel house is tumbled all that now remains of the tyrants, the persecutors, the selfish men, under whom mankind have groaned.

From White Slavery in the Barbary States by Charles Sumner

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training