Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Covered with or characterized by pustules: Describing a surface, especially skin, that has developed or is marked by small, inflamed, pus-filled blisters.
   • Resembling a pustule: Having the form or appearance of a pustule.

Usage Notes

The adjective "pustulate" is a technical or medical term primarily used to describe a specific dermatological condition. It is not common in everyday conversation. It can describe the skin itself or lesions on the skin.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The patient's skin became red and pustulate after the allergic reaction.
  • A pustulate rash is a common symptom of some viral infections.

Advanced Usage

• In Medical/Descriptive Contexts: Used precisely to describe the stage or type of a skin lesion.
  • The biopsy confirmed the lesion was pustulate, indicating a bacterial component to the inflammation.

Variants and Related Words

• Pustulant (noun/adj): An agent causing pustulation; causing the formation of pustules.
• Pustulation (noun): The process of forming pustules; the state of being covered with pustules.
  • Pustulation is a key feature of the disease.

Synonyms

• Pustular: Covered with or consisting of pustules. (This is a more common synonym in medical contexts.)
• Blistered: Having blisters, though not necessarily pus-filled.
• Vesiculated: Covered with small blisters (vesicles), which may contain clear fluid rather than pus.

Antonyms

• Clear: Free from blemishes or lesions.
• Smooth: Having an even and regular surface without raised lesions.

Word Forms and Etymology

• Verb Form: To pustulate (less common) means to form into or become covered with pustules.
  • The wound began to pustulate, a sign of infection.
• Etymology: Derived from Latin , meaning "pimple" or "blister," combined with the suffix .

Adjective

1. (of complexion) blemished by imperfections of the skin