Word.ws English Dictionary

adust

UK/əˈdʌst/

adust adjective: abnormally dark or over-concentrated (associated with various states of discomfort or illness, specifically being too hot or dry).

Adjective

adust

  1. (historical, postpositional, usually) Abnormally dark or over-concentrated (associated with various states of discomfort or illness, specifically being too hot or dry).
    • From melancholy aduſt ariſes one kind [of humour]; from Choler another, which is moſt brutiſh: another from Flegme, which is dull; and the laſt from Blood, which is beſt.1638, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Of the Matter of Melancholy”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy. […], 5th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Robert Young, Miles Flesher, and Leonard...
    • [S]o in fevers and hot diſtempers from choler aduſt is cauſed a blackneſſe in our tongues, teeth and excretions: […]1650, Thomas Browne, “A Digression Concerning Blacknesse”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 6th book, page...
  2. (broadly) Hot and dry; thirsty or parched.
    • He was tired and adust with long riding; but he did not go home.1862 July – 1863 August, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “At the Barber’s Shop”, in Romola. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1863, →OCLC, book III, page 307
  3. (archaic) Burnt or having a scorched colour.

Origin of adust

From Middle French aduste, and its source, Latin adustus (“burnt, scorched”), past participle of adūrere.

Words formed from adust

Words that rhyme with adust

25 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about adust

What does adust mean?
Adust means abnormally dark or over-concentrated (associated with various states of discomfort or illness, specifically being too hot or dry).
What part of speech is adust?
Adust is an adjective.
How do you pronounce adust?
Adust is pronounced /əˈdʌst/ (UK).

Words near adust in the dictionary

  1. adured
  2. aduring
  3. Adurol
  4. ADUs
  5. adusk
  6. adust
  7. adusted
  8. adustible
  9. adustion
  10. adustions
  11. adustiosis

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: adust (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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