leprous

adjective

lep·​rous ˈle-prəs 

1

a

: infected with leprosy

b

: of, relating to, or resembling leprosy or a leper

2

: scaly, scurfy

leprously adverb

Examples of leprous in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The backpacker hostel in their gentrifying neighborhood was made up of three connected terrace houses, leprous with pink paint and festooned with Tibetan prayer flags. —Fiona McFarlane, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024

And her hair tortured into a leprous perm. —New York Times, 17 Mar. 2023

Huge marabou storks—known as the undertaker bird on account of their haunted movements, leprous pink skin, and dark wings that hang like cloaks—slipped and flapped through the grasses around us, contributing to the funeral mood of our meal. —Torrey Peters, Bon Appétit, 4 Jan. 2022

The largest iteration of Audrey II squats upon the stage like a mammoth, leprous frog — a spectacle that is practically worth the price of admission all by itself. —Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2019

And not be seen as leprous, or as condemned, or as diseased. —Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 13 June 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French leprus, from Late Latin leprosus, from lepra leprosy — more at leper

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

leprous

adjective

lep·​rous ˈlep-rəs 

: infected with, relating to, or resembling leprosy

Medical Definition

leprous

adjective

lep·​rous ˈlep-rəs 

1

: infected with leprosy

2

: of, relating to, or associated with leprosy or a leper

leprous neuritis