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scrofulous

[ skrof-yuh-luhs ]

adjective

  1. pertaining to, resembling, of the nature of, or affected with scrofula.
  2. morally tainted.


ˈscrofulous

/ ˈskrɒfjʊləs /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, resembling, or having scrofula
  2. morally degraded
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈscrofulously, adverb
  • ˈscrofulousness, noun
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Other Words From

  • scrofu·lous·ly adverb
  • scrofu·lous·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of scrofulous1

First recorded in 1605–15; scroful(a) + -ous
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Example Sentences

The critic Elizabeth Hardwick called biography “a scrofulous cottage industry,” adding that it was rarely redeemed by “some equity between the subject and the author.”

But there was nevertheless a certain suggestion of holding court: visitors queued up to be transformed by art, like the scrofulous awaiting the king’s touch.

We still shun the scrofulous and cleave to the healthy.

From Forbes

Darlene put the cage on the bar and uncovered a huge, scrofulous rose cockatoo that looked, like a used car, as if it had passed through the hands of many owners.

One meets few or none of those figures and faces—small, scrofulous, squinny, and haggard—which disgrace the civilisation of a British city.

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