constipation
Americannoun
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constipations
plural
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a condition of the bowels in which the feces are dry and hardened and evacuation is difficult and infrequent.
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Informal. a state of slowing down, sluggishness, or inactivity.
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Obsolete. the act of crowding anything into a smaller compass; condensation.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of constipation
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English constipacioun, from Middle French, from Late Latin constīpātiōn-, stem of constīpātiō; equivalent to constipate + -ion
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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GLP-1 drugs can cause gastrointestinal side-effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
Even though many people reach out to Gerson about coffee enemas for general health and wellness and constipation, she says that’s not generally something they recommend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
“It’s not just colorectal cancer or constipation or diarrhea,” says Pasricha, author of the book, “You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Like any medication, there can be side effects, including nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and vomiting.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
Go to the Ufizzi in Florence, the Louvre in Paris, and you are so crushed with the numbers, once the might of greatness, that you go away distressed, with a feeling like constipation.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
I had no idea about things like the severe constipations, the bleeding gums or that my lasered moustache would come back You’re the first comedian to make a special while pregnant.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 9, 2016
I had no idea about things like the severe constipations, the bleeding gums or that my lasered moustache would come back.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 9, 2016
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
