Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Cavernous |
CavernousAdjective1. Being or suggesting a cavern; "vast cavernous chambers hollowed out of limestone". 2. (physiology) filled with vascular sinuses and capable of becoming distended and rigid as the result of being filled with blood; "erectile tissue"; "the penis is an erectile organ. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "cavernous" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1832. (references) |
Etymology: Cavernous \Cav"ern*ous\, adjective. [Latin expression cavernosus: compare to the French expression caverneux.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Mining | Said of an area or geologic formation, such as limestone, that contains caverns, or caves. Said of the texture of a volcanic rock that is coarselyporous or cellular. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonym: CavernousSynonym: erectile (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Concavity | Adjective: depressed; Verb: alveolate, calathiform, cup-shaped, dishing; favaginous, faveolate, favose; scyphiform, scyphose; concave, hollow, stove in; retiring; retreating; cavernous; porous; (with holes); infundibul, infundibular, infundibuliform; funnel shaped, bell shaped; campaniform, capsular; vaulted, arched. |
Rarity | Adjective: rare, subtile, thin, fine, tenuous, compressible, flimsy, slight; light; cavernous, spongy. (hollow). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Cavernous |
| English words defined with "cavernous": inferior cerebral vein, Intercavernous ♦ ophthalmic vein ♦ superficial middle cerebral vein, superior cerebral vein, superior ophthalmic vein ♦ vena cerebrum superior, vena ophthalmica, venae cerebrum inferior. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "cavernous": Crowe sign, Crowe's sign ♦ Distended carotid artery ♦ Impotence, Vasculogenic ♦ lateral wall of cavernous sinus syndrome, lost circulation ♦ Petrosal Sinus Sampling ♦ relief limonite, Retinal Vein ♦ Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial ♦ Trochlear Nerve Diseases. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | A closeup of a cavernous star coral (Montastrea cavernosa). Credit: The Coral Kingdom. |  | Interior, looking north. Photograph by Jet Lowe, May 1985. (Reproduction Number: HAER OHIO,77-AKRO,6-18) Built by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1929, this cavernous structure was used for the construction and repair of zeppelins. Eleven steel parabolic arches, 221 feet high, support the airdock without additional interior columns, creating one of the largest open interior spaces in the world. This view shows the complicated system of overhead cranes and catwalks used to construct zeppelins, along with the huge curved door for moving zeppelins in and out of the airdock. The Goodyear Airdock calls to mind the great age of lighter-than-air aviation in the 1920s. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Shenandoah Valley. Broken windows of the Penn Foundry Manufacturing Company at Waynesboro, Virginia. Three cavernous buildings filled with moldering machinery. Inhabited only by flocks of pigeons who nest among the unused pulley belts. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | They had a company of actors of darkness at the disposition of every cavernous tragedy |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | After AVMs, cavernous malformations are the type of vascular lesion most likely to require treatment. (references) | |
In contrast, cavernous malformations, telangiectases, and venous malformations are all low-flow lesions. (references) | ||
Although they are often not as symptomatic as AVMs, cavernous malformations can cause seizures in some people. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Cavernous" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Cavernous" is used about 110 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 100% | 110 | 30,952 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "cavernous": Cavernous body ♦ Cavernous respiration ♦ Cavernous Sinus ♦ Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis ♦ lateral wall of cavernous sinus syndrome. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "cavernous": Carotid-Cavernous. | |
Containing "cavernous": Carotid-Cavernous Sinus Fistula. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "cavernous"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | me shpella. (various references) | |
Arabic | كهفي, متكهف, غائر (female, gummy, hollow, sunken). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | хлътнал (deep, hollow, hollow-cheeked, sunk, sunken), с много пещери, кавернозен, звучащ глухо, подобен на пещера. (various references) | |
Chinese | 洞穴状. (various references) | |
Czech | zapadlý (bogged down, godforsaken, hollow, remote, sunken), vpadlý (hollow, sunken). (various references) | |
Danish | cavernosus, kavernøs. (various references) | |
Dutch | cavernosus, caverneus, sponsachtig (spongy). (various references) | |
Finnish | sisemmän kaulavaltimon ja lokeroveriviemärin välinen anastomoosi (carotid-cavernous fistula, carotid-cavernous sinus fistula), anastomosis carotidocavernosa (carotid-cavernous fistula, carotid-cavernous sinus fistula). (various references) | |
French | caverneux. (various references) | |
German | hohl (concave, cupped, deep set, empty, frothy, hollow, hollowly, shallow, sunken, vacant), porös (perished, porous, porously), kavitös. (various references) | |
Greek | σπηλαιώδησ, σηραγγώδης. (various references) | |
Hebrew | מחלתי. (various references) | |
Hungarian | tátongó, üreges (concave, cored, hollow, pitted, scooped, scooped out). (various references) | |
Italian | cavernoso. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 多" (open, porous). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | た"う (absence from home, going out, great happiness, open, porous). (various references) | |
Manx | ooigagh (cave-dweller, troglodyte). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | avernouscay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | cavernoso (hollow, spongy). (various references) | |
Romanian | cavernos (deep-sounding, hollow, sepulchral). (various references) | |
Russian | кавернозный, глубокий и глухой, впалый (hollow), пещеристый. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | nalik pećini, kavernozan. (various references) | |
Spanish | cavernoso (hollow). (various references) | |
Swedish | ihålig (hollow, hollowed, shallow), hålig (honeycombed). (various references) | |
Thai | ที่เป็นโพรงใหญ่และมื". (various references) | |
Turkish | mağaralarla dolu, mağaraları olan, mağara gibi, delikli (cribriform, having holes, hollow, peekaboo, perforate, perforated, porous, punched, spongy), boğuk (croaky, flat, guttural, hoarse, husky, raucous, thick, tubby), çökmüş (broken, broken down, collapsed, crooked, decadent, decrepit, depressed, down, down and out, hollow, shrunk, shrunken). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | схожий на печеру, кавернозний, глибокий і глухий, запалий (concave, hollow, sunken), багатий на печери, порожнинний, печеристий. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | mắt trũng xuống. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "cavernous": cavernously. (additional references) | |
| |
"Cavernous" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: carvernous, caverous, Cuadernos. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "cavernous" (pronounced ka"vernus) |
| 5 | -v er n u s | cleverness, governess. |
| 4 | -er n u s | bitterness, eagerness, otherness, tenderness, togetherness, wilderness. |
| 3 | -n u s | abruptness, absoluteness, acuteness, aggressiveness, agribusiness, airworthiness, alertness, aloofness, alumnus, Anas, androgynous, anise, appropriateness, arbitrariness, assertiveness, astuteness, asynchronous, attentiveness, attractiveness, awareness, awfulness, awkwardness, backwardness, badness, bagginess, baldness, bearishness, bigness, bituminous, blackness, blandness, bleakness, blindness, bluntness, boldness, bonus, boorishness, brashness, brightness, bullishness, business, callousness, calmness, carelessness, casualness, cautiousness, cheapness, chitinous, cleanliness, cleanness, closeness, cloudiness, clumsiness, cockiness, cohesiveness, coldness, Colonus, combativeness, compactness, competitiveness, completeness, consciousness, contagiousness, contentiousness, contrariness, Conus, coolness, correctness, coziness, craziness, creativeness, creditworthiness, creepiness, crispness, crookedness, cuteness, dampness, darkness, Deaconess, deadliness, deafness, decisiveness, defensiveness, destructiveness, directness, disingenuousness, distinctiveness, divisiveness, dizziness, dreariness, drowsiness, drunkenness, dryness, dullness, earnestness, edginess, effectiveness, elusiveness, emptiness, evenness, exogenous, eyewitness, faintness, fairness, farsightedness, fastness, fickleness, firmness, fitness, flatness, fondness, foolishness, forcefulness, forgiveness, forthrightness, foulness, fractiousness, frankness, freshness, friendliness, frothiness, fullness, funniness, furnace, gauntness, gayness, gelatinous, gentleness, genuineness, genus, ghastliness, gluttonous, goodness, graciousness, greatness, greenness, grimness, hairiness, handedness, happiness, hardness, harmfulness, harness, harshness, heinous, helplessness, highness, hoarseness, holiness, homelessness, homesickness, homogenous, hopefulness, hopelessness, humanness, idleness, illness, inclusiveness, indebtedness, indecisiveness, indigenous, ineffectiveness, ineptness, inertness, intravenous, intrusiveness, inventiveness, joblessness, Johannes, kindness, larcenous, largeness, lateness, lawlessness, laziness, lenis, lightfastness, lightness, likeness, liveliness, loneliness, lousiness, luminous, madness, Manus, meanness, membranous, menace, Minas, mindedness, minus, monotonous, mountainous, mutinous, narrowness, nastiness, nearsightedness, neatness, nervousness, newness, niceness, nitrogenous, nonbusiness, nonpoisonous, nosiness, nothingness, numbness, ominous, oneness, onus, openness, orderliness, outrageousness, outspokenness, pandanus, peacefulness, penis, permissiveness, persuasiveness, pervasiveness, pettiness, playfulness, poisonous, politeness, polygynous, pompousness, possessiveness, powerlessness, preparedness, queasiness, quickness, quietness, raciness, randomness, rareness, ravenous, rawness, readiness, reasonableness, rebelliousness, recklessness, redness, remoteness, resistiveness, resourcefulness, responsiveness, restiveness, restlessness, restrictiveness, richness, righteousness, rightness, riskiness, robustness, roominess, roughness, rowdiness, rudeness, ruinous, ruthlessness, sacredness, sadness, Salinas, sameness, scantiness, secretiveness, selfishness, selflessness, sensitiveness, separateness, seriousness, shakiness, shallowness, sharpness, shortness, shortsightedness, shrewdness, shyness, sickness, silliness, sinus, skittishness, slackness, sleepiness, sloppiness, slovenliness, slowness, sluggishness, slyness, smallness, smoothness, smugness, softness, solitariness, soundness, spiritedness, squeamishness, starkness, steadfastness, steadiness, steepness, sternness, stiffness, stillness, stinginess, stoutness, strangeness, stubbornness, sturdiness, suddenness, suggestiveness, sweetness, swiftness, tardiness, tartness, tastiness, tetanus, thickness, thinness, thoroughness, thoughtfulness, tightness, timeliness, tiredness, toughness, trustworthiness, truthfulness, ugliness, unconsciousness, uneasiness, unfairness, unhappiness, uniqueness, unpleasantness, unwieldiness, unwillingness, usefulness, vagueness, vastness, venous, viciousness, villainous, vindictiveness, vividness, voluminous, wariness, wastefulness, waterishness, weakness, weariness, weightlessness, weirdness, wellness, wetness, whiteness, wholeness, wholesomeness, wickedness, wildness, willingness, wimpiness, wistfulness, witness, wonderfulness, worldliness, worthiness, wryness. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-n-o-r-s-u-v" | |
-1 letter: nacreous, ravenous, uncovers. | |
-2 letters: acerous, arenous, carouse, caverns, coarsen, corneas, cravens, narcose, nervous, uncover. | |
-3 letters: acorns, arouse, arseno, caners, canoes, carven, carves, casern, causer, cavern, cavers, censor, cerous, cesura, coarse, cornea, cornua, cornus, corves, course, covens, covers, cranes, craven, craves, crones, crouse, curves, nacres, naevus, narcos, oceans, ounces, racons, rances, ravens, reason, recons. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-n-o-r-s-u-v" | |
+2 letters: cavernously, oversaucing. | |
+3 letters: countervails, overcautions, overissuance, renovascular. | |
+4 letters: cavernicolous, overissuances, veraciousness, vicariousness, voraciousness. | |
+5 letters: avariciousness, chivalrousness, oncornaviruses, overabundances, overeducations, overencourages, picornaviruses, ultraviolences, undiscoverable, vermiculations. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Quotations: Fiction 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Derivations | 13. Rhymes 14. Anagrams 15. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
