pruritus

American  

[proo-rahy-tuhs] / prʊˈraɪ təs /

noun

Pathology.

1. itching.

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pruritus British  

/ prʊəˈraɪtəs, prʊəˈrɪtɪk /

noun

1. any intense sensation of itching

2. any of various conditions characterized by intense itching

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Other Word Forms

• pruritic adjective

Etymology

Origin of pruritus

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin prūrītus an itching, equivalent to prūrī ( re ) to itch + -tus suffix of v. action

Example Sentences

Linerixibat—which isn’t currently approved anywhere in the world—is a treatment for cholestatic pruritus, an internal itch caused by a liver disease called primary biliary cholangitis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

Chronic pruritus of unknown origin is most prevalent among older adults and causes severe itching lasting longer than six weeks.

From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2024

And people with pruritus ani, the technical term for itchy anus, are often cautioned to avoid toilet paper, leading them to bidets.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2021

Earlier versions of this article, including the May 17, 2011 print edition of The Washington Post, incorrectly referred to aquagenic pruritus as aquagenic pruritis.

From Washington Post • May 16, 2011

And so to the chapel, and there saw, among other things, Sir H. Wotton's stone with this Epitaph:   Hic jacet primus hujus sententiae Author:—   Disputandi pruritus fit ecclesiae scabies.

From The Diary of Samuel Pepys by Braybrooke, Richard Griffin, Baron