pustule

[ puhs-chool ]

noun

1. Pathology. a small elevation of the skin containing pus.
2. any pimplelike or blisterlike swelling or elevation.

pustule

/ ˈpʌstjʊlə; ˈpʌstjuːl /

noun

1. a small inflamed elevated area of skin containing pus
2. any small distinct spot resembling a pimple or blister

pustule

/ pŭs′cho̅o̅l /

1. A small inflamed swelling of the skin that is filled with pus.

Derived Forms

• pustular, adjective

Other Words From

• pustuled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pustule¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin pūstula, pūsula a pimple, blister; akin to Greek phȳsaléos inflated

Word History and Origins

Origin of pustule¹

C14: from Latin pustula a blister, variant of pūsula; compare Greek phusallis bladder, phusa bellows

Example Sentences

He is a gangrenous pustule of pain.

From Salon

It involved deliberately infecting someone with the disease by pricking someone else’s smallpox pustule, removing some pus, and placing that pus inside an incision on the recipient’s arm or thigh.

From Slate

Having had the displeasure of covering his presidency in its entirety, I can honestly say I've never met a more loathsome, cancerous pustule of a human being, a man so narcissistic that for him the rest of the universe exists solely to pander to his needs.

From Salon

Each pustule contains live virus, and a ruptured blister can contaminate bed linens and other items, putting close contacts at risk.

From Seattle Times

A case of this kind has recently occurred with a student of medicine at Bellevue Hospital, who only succeeded in producing a true vaccine pustule at the third attempt, the time elapsing between each trial being only long enough to determine that the preceding one had failed.

From Scientific American

Related Words

• abscess
• blister
• bruise
• bump
• contusion
• inflammation
• injury
• nodule
• sore
• tumor
• welt