Showing results for "constipated"

• past tense form of constipate.
• past participle of constipate.

constipated

American  

[kon-stuh-pey-tid] / ˈkɒn stəˌpeɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. having a condition of the bowels in which the feces are dry and hardened and evacuation is difficult and infrequent.

   Most constipated people need more fluids and fiber.

2. slow-moving or immobilized, as by overregulation, backlogs, etc..

   Such an approach only adds to a bloated bureaucracy and constipated decision-making.

3. overly stiff, repressed, or conventional; uptight.

   She describes her husband as “emotionally constipated.”

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constipated British  

/ ˈkɒnstɪˌpeɪtɪd /

adjective

1. suffering from constipation

2. subject to restriction or blockage in a flow of productive activity or creativity

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Other Word Forms

• unconstipated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of constipated

First recorded in 1540–50; constipat(e) ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

constipated

“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

"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

“It taught you to be a lot less constipated about having a bad idea or being made fun of,” he said of his time at Esquire.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025

Elijah was healthy when he was sent home from hospital but was lethargic and severely constipated, which was initially thought to be jaundice.

From BBC ● May 14, 2023

Crosby started to smile, then held it back in a way that made him look seriously constipated.

From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson