syphilitic

American  

[sif-uh-lit-ik] / ˌsɪf əˈlɪt ɪk /

adjective

1. pertaining to, noting, or affected with syphilis.

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noun

1. a person affected with syphilis.

Other Word Forms

• antisyphilitic adjective
• postsyphilitic adjective
• pseudosyphilitic adjective
• syphilitically adverb

Etymology

Origin of syphilitic

First recorded in 1780–90; from New Latin syphiliticus, from syphili(s) syphilis + -ticus -tic

Example Sentences

At 40, Baudelaire was a shadow of his former self, crushed by unrepayable debts, suffering the aftereffects of a seemingly minor stroke, and facing the onset of syphilitic debility.

From Washington Post • May 11, 2022

Watching his future self alongside Lisa, imaginary Quilloughby laments, “Is this what I turned into? I’m greedy, I’m hateful, and my face looks like a syphilitic moon!”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2021

He identified possible syphilitic cases based on the length of stay among 177 cases of "venereal distemper", and compared estimates concerning the urban population with those for rural residents living within a 10-mile radius.

From BBC • Sep. 13, 2017

We have begun to drape him in the language of the very young or the very old: He is a toddler mid-tantrum, an impulsive boy-king, a syphilitic emperor with Swiss cheese for brains.

From Slate • May 18, 2017

He treated a syphilitic child and pointed out to Mr. Singer the scaling eruption on the palms of the hand, the dull, opaque surface of the eye, the sloping upper front incisors.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers