Skip to main content
felon

felon

9.8
A painful infection near the nail at the end of a finger or toe with pus
  • noun
  • /ˈfɛlən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : panadizo
  • She went to the clinic to treat a felon that had formed near her nail, causing a lot of discomfort.

Examples

  • I got a felon in front of me, a fool in the family... and a giant nymphomaniac on the roof.

  • I thought it looked as though a freshly printed felon had taken my wrist in the middle of a booking.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • A felon.

  • Google wants to autocorrect it to "whitlow," which is an infection of the tip of the finger (also known, amusingly, as a "felon")... but your post isn't about your painful fingertips.

    Blog text (20)
  • After cutting my finger, I developed a painful felon that made it difficult to type.

  • The doctor explained that a felon is an infection around the fingertip that can cause significant swelling.

Synonyms

furuncle
vsfelon
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A painful swollen lump on the skin around a hair that is filled with pus

occurs at the fingertip soft tissue near the nail not in hair follicles
whitlow
vsfelon
  • Specialized
9.9

A painful, pus-filled swelling at the end of a finger or toe

is the same condition but named with an alternate term
paronychia
vsfelon
  • Specialized
9.9

A skin infection around a fingernail or toenail that causes redness, swelling, and pain

involves a pus filled pocket at the fingertip rather than simple inflammation

Surface Forms

felon singular
felons plural

Etymology

Felon for the finger infection comes from an old word for a painful 'boil' or swelling at the fingertip. That's why a felon means a painful, pus-filled infection near the nail.