Meaning & use
carbuncle
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Meanings
nouncountablemedical
A cluster of connected boils forming one large, painful, infected lump under the skin, usually with several points where pus drains.
Grammar: Takes a/an and has a regular plural: a carbuncle on his neck, two carbuncles.
Patterns
- a carbuncle on something
- drain a carbuncle
The doctor lanced the carbuncle on his neck and prescribed antibiotics.
A carbuncle can make you feel feverish as well as sore.
She kept a warm compress on the carbuncle until it finally burst.
nouncountableliteraryold-fashioned
A deep red, smoothly rounded gemstone, especially a garnet, mentioned mostly in older writing and descriptions of jewellery.
Grammar: Countable: a carbuncle set in gold; several carbuncles.
Patterns
- a carbuncle set in something
The queen's ring held a single carbuncle that glowed like a coal.
Old inventories list a necklace of carbuncles and pearls.
In the story, the dragon guarded a carbuncle as large as an egg.
nouncountablefigurativedisapprovingBritish
Something ugly that spoils its surroundings, especially a large modern building that clashes with older ones nearby.
Grammar: Used figuratively and usually in a critical way: a carbuncle on the skyline.
Patterns
- a carbuncle on something
Residents called the concrete car park a carbuncle on the old harbor.
Critics saw the glass tower as a carbuncle beside the cathedral.
The planners were accused of allowing another carbuncle on the high street.
Word forms
| plural | carbuncles |
|---|
Common combinations
- a painful carbuncle
- He arrived at the clinic with a painful carbuncle on his back.
- lance a carbuncle
- The surgeon had to lance the carbuncle to release the infection.
- develop a carbuncle
- Diabetics are more likely to develop a carbuncle after a skin injury.
- a carbuncle on the landscape
- Locals described the wind-farm substation as a carbuncle on the landscape.
- a ruby-red carbuncle
- The crown was topped with a ruby-red carbuncle.
Synonyms and how they differ
- boil
- A boil is a single infected lump, whereas a carbuncle is larger and made of several joined boils, so it is more serious.
- abscess
- Abscess is a broader medical term for any pocket of pus in the body, not only one under the skin.
- eyesore
- Eyesore is the everyday word for an ugly building, while carbuncle in that sense sounds sharper and more literary.
Word family
- carbuncular adjective
- Resembling or covered with carbuncles, often meaning red and inflamed.
- carbuncled adjective
- Having carbuncles, or set with the gemstone.
Commonly confused: carbuncle or furuncle? carbuncle or caruncle?
carbuncle vs furuncle
A furuncle is a single boil; a carbuncle is a group of them joined together.
carbuncle vs caruncle
A caruncle is a small fleshy growth, such as the pink corner of the eye, and is not an infection.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'carbuncle' in its figurative sense?
Choose one answer.
Only the tower sentence describes an ugly thing spoiling its surroundings; the others are the skin infection or the gem.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carbuncle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.