What does tuberculous mean?
Tuberculous is the medical adjective for someone or something affected by, or relating to, tuberculosis. It is most often used in clinical phrases such as tuberculous meningitis and tuberculous lesions, where it identifies the condition as specifically tubercular. The word is formal and technical rather than part of ordinary conversation. It should not be understood as a general term for infectiousness: tuberculosis is caused by a specific bacterium, and a person described as tuberculous is medically understood to have the disease. In older writing, the related adjective consumptive was common, but it now sounds dated and may appear mainly in historical accounts or literary works. Tuberculous is especially useful in clinical and historical contexts because it identifies the precise nature of an illness or lesion while preserving the older vocabulary of tuberculosis, consumption, and lung disease.
adjectiveAffected with or relating to tuberculosis. In medical usage, it may also describe lesions or tissue affected by the disease.
- Affected with tuberculosis or relating to the disease.
- Of or pertaining to tubercles, especially tubercles associated with tuberculosis.
"The patient was treated for tuberculous meningitis."
"The scan revealed tuberculous lesions in both lungs."
"She developed tuberculous meningitis during the trip abroad."
Tuberculosis was once known as consumption—a stark name for a disease that, before antibiotics, made every diagnosis a life-changing event.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tuberculous come from?
The English adjective was formed in the early nineteenth century from tuberculosis with the suffix -ous. Its elements ultimately derive from Latin tuberculum, a diminutive of tuber meaning a lump or swelling, referring to the nodules characteristic of the disease. The related word tuberculosis was similarly borrowed from Latin and became the basis for the English medical adjective.
Related word forms
How tuberculous is actually used
This is a formal, chiefly medical adjective. The older synonym consumptive is now dated and can sound archaic or stigmatizing outside historical or literary contexts.
Easily confused with tuberculous
Tuberculosis is the bacterial disease itself, whereas tuberculous is the adjective describing someone or something affected by or relating to that disease.