constipate
Americanverb (used with object)
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constipates,
present (3rd person singular)
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constipated,
past participle, past
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constipating
present participle
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to cause constipation in; make costive.
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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.
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Obsolete. to crowd or pack closely together.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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constipatesimple
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constipatessimple
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have constipatedperfect
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has constipatedperfect
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am constipatingprogressive
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are constipatingprogressive
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is constipatingprogressive
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have been constipatingperfect progressive
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has been constipatingperfect progressive
Past
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constipatedsimple
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had constipatedperfect
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was constipatingprogressive
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were constipatingprogressive
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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
Such food as has a tendency to constipate the bowels, and such as will also enclose the glass and coat its sharp edges, is to be given.
From How to Care for the Insane A Manual for Nurses by William D. Granger
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
The process is more likely when food remains in the intestines for an extended period, even if a person does not feel noticeably constipated.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
He also says that in rare cases that enemas — not with coffee — are appropriate for patients who are severely constipated to provide temporary relief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
“I was like, ‘You know, I don’t like you knowing that I’m constipated in the morning,’” Effrain says he told her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Ms Perea was 29 when she first visited her GP after feeling constipated and bloated.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2025
In a matter of weeks Richard Parker became constipated and his bowel movements came no more than once a month, so my dangerous janitoring was hardly worth it from a sanitary point of view.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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
In other sections of the South, some top their meals with a savory tablespoon of dirt, believing that it is "good for them," despite its constipating effects.
From Time Magazine Archive
Cheese is very constipating to those inclined in this direction.
From Vitality Supreme by Bernarr Macfadden
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.
