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charnel

American  
[chahr-nl] / ˈtʃɑr nl /

noun

  1. a repository for dead bodies.


adjective

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

charnel British  
/ ˈtʃɑːnəl /

noun

  1. short for charnel house

"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

adjective

  1. ghastly; sepulchral; deathly

"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 charnel

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

Vocabulary lists containing charnel

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.

Scaled up to a necropolis, it could make the right impression, a modernist Hooverville of death in the shadow of our great national charnel house of inaction.

From Washington Post • May 25, 2022

Above their heads: a charnel house of endangered trees.

From Scientific American • Dec. 15, 2021

The consignment of Vietnamese civilian war wounded to provincial hospitals that were little better than charnel houses has been a national scandal for the United States.

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2021

How and which stories about Black life rise to prominence in mainstream culture is a discussion that's been running for decades, but this charnel house of a year gave it new life.

From Salon • Dec. 16, 2020

Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, first sanctioned the use of churches, for charnel houses, in 758—though Augustine had previously forbidden the practice.

From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by School, A Sexton of the Old