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Showing results for aperient. Search instead for aperients.
Synonyms

aperient

American  
[uh-peer-ee-uhnt] / əˈpɪər i ənt /

adjective

  1. having a mild purgative or laxative effect.


noun

  1. a medicine or food that acts as a mild laxative.

aperient British  
/ əˈpɪərɪənt /

adjective

  1. laxative

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a mild laxative

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of aperient

1620–30; < Latin aperient- (stem of aperiēns opening, present participle of aperīre to open), equivalent to aperi- (apparently ap- , variant of ab- ab- + -eri- ) + -ent- -ent; the base -eri-, perhaps with an earlier shape *wery- or *twery-, occurs only in this verb and operīre to close ( see cover, operculum)


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.

See Examples For:

No time should be lost: the aperient must be given immediately; warm injections must be thrown into the rectum, and the teats must be industriously drawn, to solicit the secretion of milk.

From The American Reformed Cattle Doctor by George Dadd

Senna A safe and efficient aperient for cattle may be made by infusing an ounce of senna in a quart of boiling water.

From The American Reformed Cattle Doctor by George Dadd

Diocles the Carystian, in his treatise on the Wholesomes, says that the best of all shell-fish, as aperient and diuretic food, are mussels, oysters, scallops, and cockles.

From The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athen?us by Athen?us

The old Lady Webster dinner pill is an excellent tonic aperient.

From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Louis Marshall Warfield

Suppose the bowels to be constipated, at the same time the animal is hide-bound, in poor condition, &c.; the aperient must then be combined with tonics, as follows:— Extract of butternut, half an ounce.

From The American Reformed Cattle Doctor by George Dadd

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