Standard Lemma guide

furuncle

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfjʊə.ɹʌŋ.kəl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfjʊə.ɹʌŋ.kl̩/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈfjʊɹˌʌŋ.kəl/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A boil or infected, inflamed, pus-filled sore.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, pathology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a painful sore with a hard core filled with pus

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: boil

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: staphylococcal infection

Narrower terms: gumboil

History

Etymology

Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin fūrunculus (“a petty thief, pilferer; a pointed burning sore, boil”), diminutive of fūr (“a thief”).