dysentery

American  

[dis-uhn-ter-ee] / ˈdɪs ənˌtɛr i /

noun

• dysenteries
  plural

1. Pathology. an infectious disease marked by inflammation and ulceration of the lower part of the bowels, with diarrhea that becomes mucous and hemorrhagic.

2. diarrhea.

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dysentery British  

/ ˈdɪsəntrɪ /

noun

1. infection of the intestine with bacteria or amoebae, marked chiefly by severe diarrhoea with the passage of mucus and blood

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dysentery Scientific  

/ dĭs′ən-tĕr′ē /

1. A gastrointestinal disease characterized by severe, often bloody diarrhea, usually caused by infection with bacteria or parasites.

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dysentery Cultural  

1. A painful disease of the intestines characterized by inflammation and diarrhea. Dysentery may be caused by bacteria or viruses, or may occur as the result of infestation by an amoeba.

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Discover More

Dysentery can be transmitted by contact with water or food that has been contaminated by human waste. Public health and sanitation procedures in developed countries, however, have largely eliminated this means of transmission.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dysenteric
  adjective
• postdysenteric
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dysenteries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dysentery

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Medieval Latin dysenteria, from Greek, from dysénter(a) “bad bowels” ( see dys-, enteron) + -ia -ia; replacing Middle English dissenterie, from Old French

Compare meaning

How does dysentery compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• dysentery vs. diarrhea

Explanation

Dysentery is a nasty sounding word for a nasty condition: an intestinal infection that results in diarrhea. There are few things as unpleasant as dysentery, an infectious condition, kind of like the flu, that includes severe diarrhea. Dysentery is common in countries and places with poor health conditions and sewage problems. If the drinking water is filthy, that's a great way to spread dysentery. This word sounds kind of dirty, and that's a good hint to its meaning: the horrible illness of dysentery spreads in dirty, unsafe living conditions.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dysentery dysenteries

It’s more like The Oregon Trail for podcasting, but with less dysentery.

From Slate ● Apr. 5, 2026

“It contributes to ill health, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, water-related diseases, and it contributes to conflicts over water.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025

Cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever are no longer health burdens in the U.S. thanks to a robust water treatment system.

From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2025

Aid agencies say doctors in Gaza are also struggling to treat a huge caseload of dysentery, pneumonia, and severe skin diseases because of the collapse of the health sector.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2024

I know the stars and movements planetary.4 With one whiff, I can sniff out dysentery, And also, I am practicing the way To soothe my patients — and to make them pay.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

"They've got tuberculosis, Salmonella, all the dysenteries," says Rodger Farr, a psychiatrist who ministers to the homeless of Los Angeles.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hence we have all heard of contagious pleurisies, catarrhs, dysenteries, ulcers, &c., and if the doctrines of that writer be received, we shall soon also hear of contagious Cholera Morbus with a vengeance.

From Letters on the Cholera Morbus. Containing ample evidence that this disease, under whatever name known, cannot be transmitted from the persons of those labouring under it to other individuals, by contact—through the medium of inanimate substances—or through the medium of the atmosphere; and that all restrictions, by cordons and quarantine regulations, are, as far as regards this disease, not merely useless, but highly injurious to the community. by J. (James) Gillkrest

There is no safe way for it to take but that; and even that when urged too far may bring on fatal dysenteries.

From Hypochondriasis A Practical Treatise (1766) by John Hill

Fevers and dysenteries, snakes and musquitoes, the plantain and the palm, we had left behind.

From The Andes and the Amazon Across the Continent of South America by James Orton

Other measures were taken, and the hospitals were no longer in want of bark; but dysenteries, which frequently proved mortal, spread every where.

From Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 Undertaken by Order of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and at the Camp of Daccard. to Which Are Subjoined Observations Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia. by Alexandre Corréard