colicky
Britishadjective
Explanation
When a baby cries from the pain and discomfort of indigestion, you can describe her as colicky. A colicky baby doesn't get much sleep — and neither do her parents. While there are different sorts of colic, or abdominal pain, the adjective colicky is most often used to describe human infants. Because babies can't tell you where it hurts, long bouts of crying frequently result in a diagnosis of a colicky baby. Doctors guess that being colicky is a result of intestinal gas or other digestive troubles, and the root of the word is the Greek kolon, "lower intestine."
Vocabulary lists containing colicky
Under a Painted Sky
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Race to the Sun
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This Light Between Us
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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.
He’s no longer responsible for shepherding a colicky, eyelash-thin Republican majority — over to you, Mike Johnson! — and can fully devote himself to what has long been McCarthy’s forte: campaigns and elections.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2024
He was colicky and I had times when I was holding him and thought 'I wish Mum was here'.
From BBC • Nov. 20, 2023
It’s been a colicky week on the Hill, and that table has likely seen a lot of action.
From Slate • Sep. 23, 2023
On the plus side, his teammates will never complain about colicky babies again.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2022
Every morning, when Papi leaves for the office, one of the cars starts up its colicky motor and follows him down the hill.
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
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.
