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constipate

American  
[kon-stuh-peyt] / ˈkɒn stəˌpeɪt /

verb (used with object)

constipated, constipating

  1. to cause constipation in; make costive.

  2. 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.

  3. Obsolete. to crowd or pack closely together.

constipate British  
/ ˈkɒnstɪˌpeɪt /

verb

  1. (tr) to cause constipation in

"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

Other Word Forms

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

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.