Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for phlegm

phlegm

[ flem ]

noun

  1. the thick mucus secreted in the respiratory passages and discharged through the mouth, especially that occurring in the lungs and throat passages, as during a cold.
  2. one of the four elemental bodily humors of medieval physiology, regarded as causing sluggishness or apathy.
  3. sluggishness, indifference, or apathy.

    Synonyms: impassiveness

    Antonyms: concern, animation

  4. self-possession, calmness, or composure.


phlegm

/ flɛm /

noun

  1. the viscid mucus secreted by the walls of the respiratory tract
  2. archaic.
    one of the four bodily humours
  3. apathy; stolidity; indifference
  4. self-possession; imperturbability; coolness
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


phlegm

/ flĕm /

  1. Thick mucus produced by the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, as during a cold or other respiratory infection.


Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈphlegmy, adjective
Discover More

Other Words From

  • phlegmless adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of phlegm1

1350–1400; Middle English fleem < Middle French flemme < Late Latin phlegma < Greek phlégma flame, phlegmatic humor, equivalent to phlég ( ein ) to burn + -ma resultative noun suffix
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of phlegm1

C14: from Old French fleume, from Late Latin phlegma, from Greek: inflammation, from phlegein to burn
Discover More

Example Sentences

If pathogens make it through your airways to the lungs, those pathogens can get stuck on phlegm.

Jellyfish snot can hurt people who never touch the animalGood germs lurk in gross placesThis tube worm’s glowing slime may help sustain its own shineFor coughing up phlegm, water is keyAh-choo!

In a world of physicians who thought you only needed to balance your humors in order to be well, Santorio wanted to know exactly how much phlegm was going into the equation.

I was never sure whether this was phlegm or the onset of lunacy.

There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquillity.

So after my father died I wrote a book, Fathers and Sons, with the intention of casting the Wavian phlegm out of my system.

The music and dancing are as dull as might be expected among beings so full of phlegm.

The Schoolmaster held his own horse and Lass, startled out of her peaceful phlegm by the terrifying roar and heat.

It is occasioned by the corruption of the meat, and the corruption of phlegm with a choleric humour.

Sometimes it happeneth by reason of the shrinking of certain sinews which go to the tongue, which are corrupted with phlegm.

It proceeds from a weakness of the spirits, or because warmth of digestion cause phlegm to abound in them.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Phlegethonphlegmatic