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

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 Word Forms

• diarrheal adjective
• diarrheic adjective
• diarrhetic adjective
• diarrhoeal adjective
• diarrhoeic adjective
• diarrhoetic adjective
• antidiarrheal 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

In the U.S., millions of people live with colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, including colitis, which can lead to intestinal bleeding, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Read more on Science Daily

It includes deaths from malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, malnutrition, diarrhea and more.

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“It may be that when the president of the United States tweets out a video of him dumping diarrhea on the American public, they find that slightly dismissive. And maybe that’s what all this is.”

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In Urucurituba, the riverside community of about 500 families closest to the mine, poor sanitation has led to frequent bouts of diarrhea.

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Viral infection can a number of symptoms, with mild illness symptoms consisting of fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, rash or diarrhea, the CDC says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times