ulcerate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ulcerate
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ulcerātus (past participle of ulcerāre to make sore), equivalent to ulcer- ( see ulcer) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To ulcerate is to fester, or to develop into a terrible, painful sore. Ouch! In medical terms, when a wound ulcerates, it doesn't heal, but becomes worse — red, open, painful, and sometimes infected. Skin can ulcerate, resulting in bedsores or canker sores in the mouth, and internal wounds can also ulcerate, forming what's known as an ulcer, or open sore. The Latin root of both words, ulcus, means "sore."
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.
The improvement didn't last long though, as the cornea began to cloud and ulcerate.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2015
The prison press must publish under conditions that would ulcerate an editor on the outside.
From Time Magazine Archive
It's just big happy crowds of harmless arty people expressing themselves and breaking a few pointless shibboleths that only serve to ulcerate young people anyway.
From Time Magazine Archive
The teeth grow black from an incrustation of tartar; the insides of the lips ulcerate; the gums bleed at the slightest touch, and the breath stinks most intolerably.
From The Dog by Dinks
Frambœsia is an endemic, contagious disease met with in tropical countries, characterized by the appearance of variously-sized papules, tubercles, and tumors, which, when developed, resemble currants and small raspberries, and finally break down and ulcerate.
From Essentials of Diseases of the Skin Including the Syphilodermata Arranged in the Form of Questions and Answers Prepared Especially for Students of Medicine by Stelwagon, Henry Weightman
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.
