flatulence

American  

[flach-uh-luhns] / ˈflætʃ ə ləns /

Sometimes flatulency

noun

1. the condition of having an accumulation of gas in the alimentary canal.

   To avoid the uncomfortable feeling of flatulence, increase your fiber intake gradually.

2. the expulsion of alimentary gas through the anus.

   Symptoms include abdominal discomfort, flatulence, and headache.

3. inflated and empty speech or writing; unsupported pretension; pomposity.

   His lectures, noted for their flatulence, were popular fodder for mocking.

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Etymology

Origin of flatulence

First recorded in 1700–10; from French ; flatul(ent) ( def. ) + -ence ( def. )

Example Sentences

Enter Optimized Flatulence, the new and disturbing trend of flatulating on your own schedule.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

One, “Far Out Flatulence: A Concerto for Flatulaphone,” was nearly an hour’s worth of his gas — a bespoke album, he told Jazz Times, for a client who had requested it.

From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 2020

The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence is that not all mammals do.

From Scientific American • Jun. 5, 2018

Flatulence and laughter represent “human” aspects of any number of processes that naturally arise to perpetuate the universally observed energy-spreading mandate codified by the second law.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2013

Flatulence is an excessive formation of gas in the stomach and bowels leading to distension of the abdomen and the belching of gas, and often the bringing up of a sour, pungent, watery fluid.

From The Mother and Her Child by Sadler, William S.