excrescence

[ ik-skres-uhns ]

noun

1. an abnormal outgrowth, usually harmless, on an animal or vegetable body:

   The patient had moles, swollen red dots, and other excrescences all over the body.

2. a normal outgrowth, as hair or horns.
3. any disfiguring addition.
4. abnormal growth or increase.
5. Phonetics. the insertion or addition of a sound, usually a consonant, as a result of articulatory interaction without grammatical or historical justification, like the t-sound in prince or the p-sound in hamster.

excrescence

/ ɪkˈskrɛsəns; ˌɛkskrɪˈsɛnʃəl /

noun

1. a projection or protuberance, esp an outgrowth from an organ or part of the body

Derived Forms

• excrescential, adjective

Other Words From

• su·per·ex·cres·cence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of excrescence¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; from Latin excrēscentia; excrescent, -ence

Example Sentences

If the pronoun police of Wisconsin’s Kiel Area School District were just another woke excrescence on American education, they would be merely local embarrassments.

From Washington Post

One British news report from the era featured an interview with a bloke on the street who described it as “an abortion — it’s an excrescence.”

From Los Angeles Times

The ceiling was unbreached, the man said, and added, a little starchily, that the excrescence clearly was what it appeared to be.

From Washington Post

These excrescences can’t be good for the tree, but they sure make it distinctive.

From Washington Post

“Do you take this excrescence to be your husband?”

From Washington Post