contusion

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablemedical

   A medical term for a bruise: an area of skin or tissue that is discolored and painful because of an injury that did not break the skin.

   Grammar: Countable; use 'a contusion' for one bruise, 'contusions' for more than one.

   Patterns

   • a contusion on something
   • suffer a contusion
   • treat a contusion

   The player suffered a contusion on his thigh after a hard tackle.

   The doctor said the contusion would heal in about a week.

   She had a large contusion on her arm from the fall.

2. 2nouncountablemedical

   A bruise on an internal organ, such as the brain, caused by a blow.

   Grammar: Countable; often used with 'cerebral' or 'brain' to specify the organ.

   Patterns

   • cerebral contusion
   • brain contusion
   • contusion of the brain

   The scan showed a small cerebral contusion.

   He was kept in the hospital overnight because of a brain contusion.

   A severe contusion of the lung can cause breathing problems.

Word forms

Common combinations

suffer a contusion

The athlete suffered a contusion during the game.

treat a contusion

You should treat a contusion with ice and rest.

a contusion on (a body part)

She had a contusion on her knee.

cerebral contusion

A cerebral contusion can be life-threatening.

minor contusion

It was just a minor contusion, nothing serious.

Synonyms and how they differ

bruise

Bruise is the everyday word; contusion is more formal and medical.

injury

Injury is a general word for any harm to the body; contusion is a specific type of injury.

Word family

contuse verb

To injure without breaking the skin; to bruise.

Commonly confused: contusion or concussion?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “contusion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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