purulent
/ˈpjʊəɹ(j)ʊlənt/adjective
purulent is spelled P-U-R-U-L-E-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 102,771st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, purulent means “Consisting of pus” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in purulent?
| Letters | 8: P-U-R-U-L-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 102,771st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is purulent?
Purulent appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 102,771st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce purulent?
- /ˈpjʊəɹ(j)ʊlənt/
- /ˈpjʊəɹələnt/
Purulent has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-purulent.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of purulent
- more purulent comparative
- most purulent superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does purulent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Consisting of pus.
Near-synonym: puriform
- 2
Leaking or seeping pus.
purulent inflammation
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Purulent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense consisting of pus:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does purulent come from?
Borrowed from Middle French purulent, from Latin pūrulentus, from pūs (“pus”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).