charnel
Noun · AdjectiveWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- a vault or building where corpses or bones are depositedSynonyms: charnel house
Adjective (1)
- gruesomely indicative of death or the dead“a charnel smell came from the chest filled with dead men's bones”“ghastly shrieks”“the sepulchral darkness of the catacombs”Synonyms: ghastlysepulchral
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onerousadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Charnel \Char"nel\, a. [F. charnel carnal, fleshly, fr. L. carnalis. See Carnal.] Containing the bodies of the dead. "Charnel vaults." --Milton. [1913 Webster]
Charnel house, a tomb, vault, cemetery, or other place where the bones of the dead are deposited; originally, a place for the bones thrown up when digging new graves in old burial grounds. [1913 Webster]
Charnel \Char"nel\, n. A charnel house; a grave; a cemetery. [1913 Webster]
In their proud charnel of Thermopyl[ae]. --Byron. [1913 Webster]