Meanings
adjectivetabescent (comparative more tabescent, superlative most tabescent)
comparative more tabescent · superlative most tabescent
- Wasting away, or becoming emaciated.First known use 19th c.
He is weak and stinking, tabescent, at the far edge of hope.
1982, T. C. Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 42
Origin
- Latintabescens
- Englishtabescent
From Latin tabescens, present participle of tabescere.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tabescent
crescentfluorescentantidepressantincandescentconvalescentsuppressantiridescentincessantluminescentquiescentpubescentdepressanteffervescentopalescentpearlescentflorescentevanescentelectroluminescenttumescentphosphorescentessentprepubescentsenescentobsolescent
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
tabescent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tabescent
MLA
“tabescent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tabescent. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tabescent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tabescent.
Source: tabescent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.