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Glite Dictionary
abscessed tooth

abscessed tooth

1 5.6
A tooth with a painful, infected swelling in the gum
  • noun
  • /ˈæbˌsɛst toʊθ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : diente con absceso
  • Visiting the clinic, I saw several patients with complaints of abscessed teeth, indicating a common dental issue.

Examples

  • After experiencing severe pain, I learned that I had an abscessed tooth needing immediate treatment.

  • There was a pain, too, like that of an abscessed tooth above his throat, back of his eyes, where tears lodge.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I had an abscessed tooth, but still I couldn't stop working.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • What I do know is that an abscessed tooth is a magic carpet for bacteria to enter the bloodstream and go to your brain.

    Kimi (2022)

  • John Byers was hospitalized in Fairbanks today for an infection in an abscessed tooth.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I don't look well because I've got hepatitis and a goddamn abscessed tooth that's killing me.

    Billy Jack (1971)

  • He looks cold and pitiful, with one cheek swollen, as if with an abscessed tooth.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • When my husband was a medic for the military, I helped surgically remove shrapnel, stitch wounds, drain abscessed teeth, and re-stitch a botched hernia surgery, all from home.

    Blog text (23)

  • The dentist recommended an extraction to relieve the pain from my abscessed tooth.

Synonyms

abscess
vsabscessed tooth
  • Specialized
23 7.5

A painful swollen area in the body that contains pus from an infection

is limited to dental regions rather than any body tissue
gumboil
vsabscessed tooth
  • Specialized
9.9

A painful swollen lump on the gums caused by infection

is a dental infection affecting the area around a single dental structure

How Infected

abscessed tooth
  • Specialized
1 5.6
dental caries
  • Specialized
1 4.1

Surface Forms

abscessed tooth singular
abscessed teeth plural

Morphology

abscessed + tooth

The noun phrase 'abscessed tooth' is compositionally derived from 'abscessed' (having an abscess/infected with pus) + 'tooth' (a biting/chewing structure), so a learner who knows both words can infer it means a tooth with an abscess. This adjective+noun construction is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common pattern and therefore readily comprehensible to B1 learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

The compound abscessed tooth gives a clear image: a tooth that is abscessed, with a painful pocket of 'pus' under or near it. So, it means 'a tooth that is swollen, infected and causing pain'.