“He wiped his nose — it was full of mucous.”
Confusables Entry 1059 / 1605 60-second read
Mucous vs. Mucus
Adjective versus noun.
The comparisoni
“He wiped his nose — it was full of mucus.”
The ruleii
¶
MUCOUS = adjective. MUCUS = noun.
MUCOUS (ending -OUS) is the adjective — mucous membrane, mucous lining. MUCUS (ending -US) is the noun — the substance itself.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
The stuff is MUCUS. The tissue is MUCOUS.