postprandial
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of postprandial
First recorded in 1810–20; post- + Latin prandi(um) “meal” + -al 1
Explanation
Anything that's postprandial happens immediately after eating a meal, like the postprandial sleepiness that follows Thanksgiving dinner and leaves your entire family snoozing on the couch. The adjective postprandial is just what you need for describing that after-dinner drowsiness, a condition that has the official name postprandial somnolence. If you can resist taking a nap after an unusually large lunch, you might instead take a postprandial walk around the block. Postprandial adds the prefix post-, or "after," to the Latin prandium, "luncheon."
Vocabulary lists containing postprandial
post
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Endgame
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post-
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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.
“Upon the completion of digestion, these postprandial responses are thrown into reverse; tissue function is collectively downregulated and tissues undergo atrophy.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2023
Unlike so many of the postprandial digestifs to come out of Old Europe, Limoncello is not some conglomeration of thousands of secret and obscure ingredients.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2022
I wish venues would be less locked into the 8 p.m. postprandial habit going forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2021
But the most egregious transgression, at least in her opinion, is his postprandial habit of chomping and crunching on nuts.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2020
At one point, Fischer and Kok joined the Spasskys in a doubles tennis match; there were elegant, candlelit dinners and postprandial conversations, and a few outings into Brussels itself.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
