abscessed
adj.adj. having a painful, swollen area in the body where pus has collected. This usually happens when an infection is trapped under the skin or inside a tooth.
adj. affected by or containing an abscess, which is a localized collection of pus resulting from a bacterial infection.
The dentist told me my tooth was abscessed.
The patient arrived at the clinic with a swollen, abscessed leg that required immediate drainage.
The surgeon identified an abscessed organ during the initial scan, necessitating a more aggressive approach to the surgical procedure than originally planned.
From abscess + -ed.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 18, 2026