diarrhea

or di·ar·rhoe·a

[ dahy-uh-ree-uh ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. an intestinal disorder characterized by abnormal frequency and fluidity of fecal evacuations.

diarrhea

/ dī′ə-rē′ə /

1. Excessive and frequent evacuation of watery feces, usually a symptom of a gastrointestinal disorder. Severe, prolonged diarrhea can lead to dehydration.

diarrhea

1. The frequent passage of abnormally watery feces , which is a sign of illness.

Other Words From

• diar·rheal diar·rheic di·ar·rhet·ic [dahy-, uh, -, ret, -ik], diar·rhoeal diar·rhoeic diar·rhoetic adjective
• anti·diar·rheal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of diarrhea¹

1350–1400; Middle English diaria < Late Latin diarrhoea < Greek diárrhoia a flowing through, equivalent to diarrho- (variant stem of diarrheîn to flow through) + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

Other symptoms that may affect some patients include loss of taste or smell, aches and pains, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, red eyes, diarrhea or skin rash.

From No Straight News

A 2018 paper from The Lancet Infectious Diseases reported that in 195 countries, diarrhea was responsible for 1,655,944 deaths.

From Science News For Students

After a week, physicians diagnosed typhoid, a bacterial infection that causes diarrhea, vomiting and fever so high it can be fatal.

From Ozy

The first known human-to-cat transmission, meanwhile, occurred in Belgium in late March, where a sick owner’s cat developed typical coronavirus-like symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, and breathing difficulties.

From Fortune

Only one boat came in the middle of 1972, which brought a lot of sickness, diarrhea, vomiting.

From Fortune

Within six days, however, the infant was admitted to a pediatric hospital with diarrhea, bluish skin, and respiratory failure.

From The Daily Beast

Kids suffering from malaria or extreme diarrhea are now too often left without medical care.

From The Daily Beast

For children on the brink of severe malnutrition, diarrhea can be the trigger that pushes them over the edge.

From The Daily Beast

With less than a dozen toilets in the entire community, poor sanitation fuels high rates of malaria and lethal cases of diarrhea.

From The Daily Beast

If you continue to have diarrhea or explosive gas, you do need to see your practitioner.

From The Daily Beast

When diarrhea exists, the color may be red, even if the source of the blood is high up.

From Project Gutenberg

He showed that hog cholera and army diarrhea are the same disease, and come from the same cause.

From Project Gutenberg

I would eat things like this until I got myself a case of diarrhea—and so was cured of constipation for a time!

From Project Gutenberg

This species has been highly commended as a remedy in dysentery after due depletion, diarrhea, menorrhagia, and leucorrhea.

From Project Gutenberg

The water, however, must have been good here as we were finally getting over the diarrhea.

From Project Gutenberg