charnel

[ chahr-nl ]

noun

1. a repository for dead bodies.

adjective

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

charnel

/ ˈtʃɑːnəl /

noun

1. short for charnel house

adjective

1. ghastly; sepulchral; deathly

Word History and Origins

Origin of charnel¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of charnel¹

C14: from Old French: burial place, from Latin carnālis fleshly, carnal

Example Sentences

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

Now it's become a charnel house after Hamas gunmen burst out of the Gaza Strip on Saturday and laid waste to the village.

From Reuters

Mrs King told journalists: "Care homes became charnel houses because there was no testing, there was insufficient PPE, but, most disastrously, it's because they discharged people from hospitals without testing them."

From BBC

Technological "advances" had made it possible for governments to turn World War I into a merciless charnel house on a vast scale.

From Salon

"Care homes became charnel houses because there was no testing, there was insufficient PPE, but, most disastrously, it's because they discharged people from hospitals without testing them."

From BBC

Related Words

• garden
• graveyard
• mortuary
• tomb