MEANING
1. Rough and uneven to the touch, often with scales or a scurfy surface.
2. Indecent, salacious, or offensively improper in language or subject matter.
Use it for
A coarse abnormal hide; friction against a scaled surface; bodily textureUse its roughness literally; do not infer infection merely from the word.
Words that belong together
- scabrous skin
- scabrous surface
- scabrous tale
On the page
The creature's scabrous hide scraped her sleeve.
He ran a gloved finger over the scabrous patch.
The smooth underside made the scabrous back look even stranger.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- scabrous
Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Uncommon; also means indecent or objectionable in language and subject matter. Not synonymous with infected or necessarily covered in wound scabs. Adjective; comparison: more scabrous, most scabrous. Derived/related family (not inflections): scabrousness (noun).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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