noun
- Plural of leprosy; instances or cases of the infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, characterized by skin lesions and nerve damage.
- Plural of leprosy; figurative uses referring to moral or social corruption or contamination.
Usage: Medical/clinical usage; Plural form
Usage: Figurative/literary; Archaic or formal
Examples
- The hospital treated several leprosies in the tropical region.
- Medieval texts sometimes used leprosies as a metaphor for spiritual corruption.
- Modern antibiotics have made leprosies treatable and no longer a major public health crisis in developed nations.
- The doctor studied the progression of different leprosies across patient populations.
- Historical accounts describe leprosies as one of the most feared diseases of antiquity.