phantom pregnancy

noun

1. Also called: false pregnancy.  pseudopregnancy. Technical name: pseudocyesis. the occurrence of signs of pregnancy, such as enlarged abdomen and absence of menstruation, when no embryo is present, due to hormonal imbalance

Example Sentences

Soon Johnson will be strapped into her straitjacket, his phantom pregnancy of a new deal over.

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We follow Yejide through a phantom pregnancy, infant mortality and a second wife as Adébáyò builds a vivid cast of secondary characters who bear witness and contribute to the disintegration of her marriage.

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Among those she turned to were spiritual “healers” – including one Monsieur Philippe whose interventions only appear to have helped trigger a phantom pregnancy for the Tsarina.

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Duchardt’s second strategy was to admit that although Montgomery was the killer, she was not guilty by reason of insanity – because, he believed, she had been suffering from a phantom pregnancy, or pseudocyesis.

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Barely a couple of weeks ago it was revealed that a notable giant panda in a Taiwanese zoo had staged a phantom pregnancy, only to be rumbled on the ruse when experts gave her an ultrasound.

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