constipate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
constipates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
constipated,
past participle, past
-
constipating
present participle
-
to cause constipation in; make costive.
-
Informal. to cause to become slow-moving or immobilized; restrict the action or effectiveness of.
Bureaucratic red tape can constipate the operations of any government agency.
-
Obsolete. to crowd or pack closely together.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
constipatesimple
-
constipatessimple
-
have constipatedperfect
-
has constipatedperfect
-
am constipatingprogressive
-
are constipatingprogressive
-
is constipatingprogressive
-
have been constipatingperfect progressive
-
has been constipatingperfect progressive
Past
-
constipatedsimple
-
had constipatedperfect
-
was constipatingprogressive
-
were constipatingprogressive
-
had been constipatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of constipate
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English past participle constipat, from Latin constīpātus, past participle of constīpāre, equivalent to con- intensive prefix + Latin stīpāre “to crowd, press”); see origin at con-, stiff
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:
Dalia Lara often drives an hour from her Federal Way home to buy the only baby formula that doesn’t constipate her 3-month-old.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2022
But they also entomb vast tracts of fertile soil, constipate rivers, choke habitats and – acting as a rock-hard second skin – desensitise us from what is happening outside our urban fortresses.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 25, 2019
I would rather add some nutritious food that won’t constipate her.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2017
Critics fret that the control freakery will now constipate Whitehall: “You couldn’t blow your nose without Nick or Fi knowing,” recalls one former colleague.
From Economist ● Aug. 4, 2016
"When we put patients in bed and forbid them to rise or to make use of their muscles, we at once lessen appetite, weaken digestion in many cases, constipate the bowels, and enfeeble circulation."
From Fat and Blood An Essay on the Treatment of Certain Forms of Neurasthenia and Hysteria by John K. Mitchell
Very often I meet with women who cannot take iron, either because it disturbs the stomach, causes headache, or constipates, or else because they have been told never to take iron.
From Fat and Blood An Essay on the Treatment of Certain Forms of Neurasthenia and Hysteria by John K. Mitchell
Caution.—If it causes oppression at the stomach, combine it with an aromatic; if it causes vomiting, give it in wine or soda water; if it purges, give opium; and if it constipates give rhubarb.
From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous
"You could run into the extremes of eating too much, where if you're not drinking enough water to hydrate and exceed the amount of soluble and insoluble fiber, you can get constipated," Lee said.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2026
When Leonidas was just a month old, he was fussy and often constipated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Lou is stuck and emotionally constipated, and needs to act and basically can’t, won’t, whatever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
If by chance I eat three in a day, I get constipated.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
And even though I hated getting shuffled around and grabbed by my love handles, my rubbery constipated face did relax into a smile.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
I take a pain medication that is very constipating.
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2018
But in addition to being uncomfortably constipating, it can be toxic, even deadly, to the heart.
From New York Times ● May 10, 2016
It is constipating, so he has to take daily stool softeners.
From New York Times ● Nov. 19, 2010
Since it has laxative properties, some manufacturers combine it with aluminum hydroxide, which is also antacid but, taken alone, is slightly constipating.
From Time Magazine Archive
Care should be taken in advising a cereal diet for children, since cereals, with the exception of oats, are apt to be constipating.
From Dietetics for Nurses by Fairfax T. Proudfit
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.
