anorexia nervosa

[ an-uh-rek-see-uh nur-voh-suh ]

noun

, Psychiatry.

1. an eating disorder primarily affecting adolescent girls and young women, characterized by pathological fear of becoming fat, distorted body image, excessive dieting, and emaciation.

anorexia nervosa

/ nûr-vō′sə /

1. An eating disorder characterized by a distorted body image, fear of becoming obese, persistent aversion to food, and severe weight loss and malnutrition. It most commonly affects teenage girls and young women, who often develop amenorrhea, osteoporosis and other abnormalities.

anorexia nervosa

1. A psychosomatic disorder in which the sufferer refuses to eat and undertakes activities (such as self-induced vomiting) to bring about extreme weight loss. Anorexia, which is also characterized by a distorted self-image, occurs most often in young women aged twelve to twenty-one and may result in death if medical treatment is not obtained. Treatment for anorexia often includes extensive counseling to reveal underlying emotional problems.

Word History and Origins

Origin of anorexia nervosa¹

First recorded in 1870–75; from New Latin: “nervous anorexia”

Example Sentences

During my early and mid-thirties, however, I was also in the throes of a twenty-year battle with anorexia nervosa, tiptoeing toward recovery but still very much in denial.

From Outside Online

In that moment, I realized that after more than a decade, I had made a full recovery from anorexia nervosa, which had once caused me an unthinkable amount of suffering.

From Outside Online

Marie took her own life on January 19, just two months after her daughter Isabelle succumbed to the effects of anorexia nervosa.

From The Daily Beast

Thus, for example, there exists in adult life a disturbance of the nervous system which is called "anorexia nervosa."

From Project Gutenberg