Meaning & use
scrofulous
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableliteraryfigurativedisapproving
Morally rotten or filthy, in a way that seems diseased or decaying.
Grammar: A rare literary insult, usually placed before a noun: a scrofulous politician.
Patterns
- a scrofulous person
The novelist described the scrofulous characters who filled the tavern.
Critics called the scandal-ridden court scrofulous.
He was a scrofulous schemer who cheated his own family.
adjectivecomparablemedicalold-fashioned
Suffering from scrofula, an old name for a form of tuberculosis that causes swollen glands in the neck.
Grammar: A medical, historical word; it describes a person or condition.
Patterns
- a scrofulous patient
Medieval kings were said to heal scrofulous patients by touch.
The scrofulous child was sent to the seaside for fresh air.
Doctors once treated scrofulous swellings with herbal poultices.
Word forms
| comparative | more scrofulous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most scrofulous |
Common combinations
- scrofulous swelling
- A scrofulous swelling appeared on his neck.
- scrofulous patient
- The scrofulous patient was sent to the coast.
- scrofulous rogue
- The novel features a scrofulous rogue.
- scrofulous gang
- A scrofulous gang loitered in the alley.
- scrofulous character
- The play is full of scrofulous characters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sordid
- Sordid describes behavior or places that are dirty and morally low, and is more common than scrofulous.
- squalid
- Squalid emphasizes dirt and neglect and does not carry the sense of disease that scrofulous does.
- degenerate
- Degenerate focuses on moral decline, while scrofulous adds a picture of physical sickness.
- diseased
- Diseased only means affected by illness, while scrofulous used figuratively means morally corrupt.
Opposites
Word family
- scrofula noun
- an old name for tuberculosis of the neck glands
- scrofulously adverb
- in a diseased or morally filthy way; very rare
- scrofulousness noun
- the state of being scrofulous
Commonly confused: scrofulous or scruffy?
scrofulous vs scruffy
Scruffy means untidy or shabby in appearance. Scrofulous means diseased, or morally filthy in a figurative sense.
Practice
The writer described the tavern's regulars as a ___ crowd of thieves and cheats.
Choose one answer.
Scrofulous here means morally filthy and corrupt. Scrupulous means very honest and careful, which is the opposite of the meaning intended.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scrofulous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.