charnel

noun

char·​nel ˈchär-nᵊl How to pronounce charnel (audio)
Synonyms of charnelnext
: a building or chamber in which bodies or bones are deposited

called also charnel house

charnel adjective

Examples of charnel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Thousands of homes and a sprawl of entire neighborhoods were transformed into outdoor charnel houses. — Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 10 Jan. 2025 His third-floor office, in a dingy concrete building across a roaring four-lane road from the Ikeja market, is a charnel house of dead mobile phones. — Vince Beiser, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024 For the Himalayan monks of the early teen centuries, the ideal setting for initiation was a charnel ground, where people left their dead to be eaten by wild animals. — Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2025 One is a charnel house dominated by Daniel Day-Lewis’s Bill the Butcher, a man with unnerving knife skills. — New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for charnel

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French carnel, charnel, probably alteration of charner, from Medieval Latin carnarium, from Latin carn-, caro flesh — more at carnal

First Known Use

1526, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of charnel was in 1526

Rhymes for charnel

See All Rhymes for charnel

Browse Nearby Words

charneco
charnel
charnockite
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Charnel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charnel. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

charnel

noun
char·​nel ˈchärn-ᵊl How to pronounce charnel (audio)
: a building or chamber in which dead bodies or bones are deposited
charnel adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on charnel

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for charnel

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