SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

excrescence

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of excrescence

1 an abnormal mass of tissue

concerned about the weird excrescence that seemed to be developing on his hand

Synonyms of excrescence

growth, lump, neoplasm, tumor

Words Related to excrescence

cancer, carcinoma, lymphoma, malignancy, melanoma, polyp

cyst, tubercle, wart

2 something that spoils the appearance or completeness of a thing

Local residents regard the hulking apartment building as a hideous excrescence on their once-lovely street.

Synonyms of excrescence

blemish, blight, blotch, defect, deformity, disfigurement, fault, flaw, imperfection, mar, mark, pockmark, scar

Words Related to excrescence

abnormality, distortion, irregularity, malformation, misshape

bug, glitch, kink

blot, blur, spot, stain, taint

damage, defacement, impairment, injury

failing, weakness

Near Antonyms of excrescence

adornment, decoration, embellishment, enhancement, ornament

Learn More about excrescence

Dictionary: Definition of excrescence Medical Dictionary: Definition of excrescence Britannica English: Translation of excrescence for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up excrescence? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

garrulous

play

talkative or wordy

Words at Play

alt-5b032d1aef0e9

'Ingenious' and 'Ingenuous': More Than a Typo

One's clever, the other's like a child

alt-5b0310daaafde

A Matter-of-Fact Look at 'Deadpan'

Surely we can be serious.

9 Words from the Magical Realm

When language is magic

alt-5afefa13cc811

A Field Guide to British Noble Titles

Know your Duchess from your Baroness

Ask the Editors

video-ghost-words

Ghost Word

The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

video-literally

Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

video-his-or-her

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Word Games

Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

How familiar are you with Nabokov’s unfamiliar vocabulary?

Take the quiz

cow-coming-home

Farm Idioms Quiz

Not your children's farm quiz.

Take the quiz

Name That Thing

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz

Syn City

Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.

Play the game