excrescent

/iks'kresnt/
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excrescent

A small, excrescent bump appears on the otherwise smooth tree bark.

Definition
  1. Adjective:
    • Forming an abnormal or excessive outgrowth: Describes something that grows out unnaturally or excessively from a surface, often in a way that is superfluous or disfiguring.
    • Superfluous or unnecessary: Used more generally to describe something that is an unnecessary addition or appendage.
Usage Examples
  • Adjective:
    • The surgeon removed the excrescent tissue from the bone. (The surgeon removed the abnormally growing tissue from the bone.)
    • Many critics viewed the new annex as an excrescent addition to the historic building. (Many critics viewed the new annex as a superfluous addition to the historic building.)
    • In some dialects, the 't' in 'often' is considered an excrescent sound. (In some dialects, the 't' in 'often' is considered an intrusive or unnecessary sound.)
Advanced Usage
  • In Linguistics: Specifically refers to a sound inserted into a word without etymological justification, often for ease of pronunciation (an excrescent consonant).
    • The 'p' in 'empty' (from Old English 'æmtig') is an excrescent sound.
  • In Biology/Medicine: Describes abnormal growths like tumors, polyps, or warts.
    • The pathologist identified the mass as an excrescent lesion.
Variants and Related Words
  • Excrescence (n): The outgrowth itself; something that grows out abnormally or is viewed as a disfiguring addition.
    • The old tree was covered in knobby excrescences.
  • Excrescential (adj): Pertaining to or of the nature of an excrescence (less common).
Synonyms
  • Superfluous: Exceeding what is sufficient or necessary.
  • Redundant: No longer needed or useful; superfluous.
  • Extraneous: Irrelevant or unrelated to the subject; external.
  • Protuberant: Bulging; swelling outward.
Antonyms
  • Essential: Absolutely necessary; extremely important.
  • Integral: Necessary to make a whole complete; fundamental.
  • Aesthetic: Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty (as opposed to disfiguring).
Related Phrases/Idioms
  • Excrescent growth: A standard phrase used in medical and biological contexts to describe an abnormal outgrowth.
    • The biopsy confirmed it was a benign excrescent growth.
  • Excrescent upon: A formal construction meaning "growing out from."
    • The coral formed excrescent upon the sunken hull.
excrescent

A small, excrescent bump appears on the otherwise smooth tree bark.

Adjective
  1. forming an outgrowth (usually an excessive outgrowth)