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suppuration

American  
[suhp-yuh-rey-shuhn] / ˌsʌp yəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. the process of suppurating.

  2. the matter produced by suppuration; pus.


suppuration British  
/ ˌsʌpjʊˈreɪʃən /

noun

  1. the discharging of pus from a wound, sore, etc

  2. the discharge itself

"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 suppuration

1535–45; < Latin suppūrātiōn- (stem of suppūrātiō ) a forming of pus. See suppurate, -ion

Explanation

Suppuration is the process of pus forming. If you can't remove a tiny splinter from your finger, over time some suppuration may occur around it. Use the noun suppuration when you need a nice clean medical term for the formation of pus, the white substance that sometimes oozes from a sore or a pimple. Suppuration can happen because of an infection or skin irritation. The Latin root is suppurare, "to form or discharge pus," from sub, "under," and pus, which literally means "matter from a sore," and figuratively, "bitterness or malice."

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Vocabulary lists containing suppuration

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.

A spongy cauliflower-shaped mass on the back of his head and other body growths gave off an odious suppuration.

From Time Magazine Archive

In their appendicitis, however, "suppuration is the exception rather than the rule, and the primary pathologic change tends to be a massive variety of gangrene, a true tissue death."

From Time Magazine Archive

Dread like suppuration oozes from the deep, unmedicated wound in her mind.

From Time Magazine Archive

He burns the body to bring on a fever in cases of chronic diseases of the joints, obstinate suppuration, cardiac inflammation following chronic ulceration.

From Time Magazine Archive

A hard, painful, inflamed tumor, which, on suppuration, discharges pus, mixed with blood, and discloses a small fibrous mass of dead tissue, called the core.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah

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