excrescence
noun/ɪkˈskresns/
/ɪkˈskresns/
(formal)- an ugly part that has grown on a part of an animal’s body or on a plant, caused by disease or abnormality
- A hard, bony excrescence was visible above one of the animal’s hooves.
- (figurative) The new office block is an excrescence (= it is very ugly).
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin excrescentia, from excrescere ‘grow out’, from ex- ‘out’ + crescere ‘grow’.
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excrescence