Meaning & use
induration
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Meanings
noununcountablemedical
The process or result of soft tissue becoming abnormally hard, often because of inflammation, swelling or scarring.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: induration of the skin.
Patterns
- induration of something
The doctor noted induration around the injection site.
Long-term inflammation can lead to induration of the breast tissue.
noununcountablespecialist
The hardening of loose sediment or soil into solid rock or firm ground, as through pressure or heat.
Grammar: Used in geology without an article: induration of the sediment.
Patterns
- induration of something
Heat and pressure caused the induration of the sandy layer.
Geologists study induration to understand how sedimentary rock forms.
Common combinations
- induration of the skin
- The scan showed induration of the skin near the wound.
- area of induration
- The nurse measured the area of induration after the test.
- localized induration
- Localized induration may follow an insect bite.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hardening
- Hardening is the everyday word and has no technical or medical tone.
- sclerosis
- Sclerosis is a medical term for pathological hardening, usually of a specific organ or tissue.
Opposites
Word family
- indurate verb
- to make or become hard
- indurated adjective
- hardened
Commonly confused: induration or duration?
induration vs duration
Duration means how long something lasts; induration is about hardening.
Practice
The nurse reported induration at the site of the injection. What did she most likely notice?
Choose one answer.
Induration means abnormal hardening of tissue. The other options describe different findings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “induration”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.