dyspeptic
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to, subject to, or suffering from dyspepsia.
-
gloomy, pessimistic, and irritable.
noun
adjective
-
relating to or suffering from dyspepsia
-
irritable
noun
Other Word Forms
- dyspeptically adverb
- nondyspeptic adjective
- nondyspeptical adjective
- nondyspeptically adverb
Etymology
Origin of dyspeptic
1685–95; dys- + Greek peptikós pertaining to digestion, equivalent to pept ( ós ) digested ( pep- cook, digest + -tos past participle suffix) + -ikos -ic
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.
Fern had a punchy writing style and ability to dash off whimsical riffs on un-newsy topics such as home decor, dyspeptic shopkeepers and bedtime stories.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026
Payne is the bard of dyspeptic middle-aged men, and no one plays such men better than Giamatti.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 30, 2023
His characteristically dyspeptic interview in the Wall Street Journal trivializes the intelligence and individuality of Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson for no apparent reason beyond petty resentment.
From Slate • Jul. 31, 2023
That wasn’t likely in an environment of plunging stock prices, mass layoffs at Bay Area companies large and small, and a broadly dyspeptic mood among the typically peppy tech crowd.
From Washington Post • Mar. 10, 2023
The news that an alien’s dyspeptic pains were persisting did not, however, evoke any sympathetic words, and again I retreated into Trinity Street with a prescription for more white stuff.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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.
