laryngitis
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- laryngitic adjective
Etymology
Origin of laryngitis
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How does laryngitis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
If your throat is very sore and your voice is hoarse, you may have laryngitis. Laryngitis happens when the larynx gets red, painful, and swollen. Some people temporarily lose the ability to speak at all when they get laryngitis, while others can only talk in a hoarse whisper. Laryngitis has many different causes, some of which can be spread between people, like the flu, and others which can't, like allergies or simply talking too long or loudly. Laryngitis is a medical Latin term that combines larynx, "the upper windpipe" in Greek, and -itis, "inflammation."
Vocabulary lists containing laryngitis
The Bell Jar
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Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!
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The Moon Within
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Justin Timberlake has postponed six of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour concerts so he can recover from bronchitis and laryngitis.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2024
For what it’s worth, Washington died in 1799 of epiglottitus and acute laryngitis.
From Slate • Jul. 22, 2024
A doctor saw inflammation on her vocal cords; it could have been allergies, acid reflux, a hormonal imbalance or laryngitis, or some combination of those factors.
From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2023
The band's set was hanging in the balance after frontman Alex Turner caught laryngitis, forcing them to cancel a show in Dublin on Tuesday.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2023
"Hullo, Esther, what's the matter, have you got laryngitis?"
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.