carbuncle.

1. A painful cluster of connected boils caused by infection beneath the skin.

2. A deep-red precious stone, especially a rounded garnet traditionally described as glowing.

3. A building or architectural feature regarded as conspicuously ugly or intrusive.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• inflamed carbuncle
• carbuncle on the neck

On the page

An inflamed carbuncle rose beneath the collar.

The physician examined the carbuncle without touching its dark center.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Singular carbuncle; plural carbuncles. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.