toxic shock syndrome

Save This Word!

noun Pathology.

a rapidly developing, sometimes fatal infection characterized by sudden onset of fever, gastrointestinal upsets, a sunburnlike rash, and a drop in blood pressure: caused by a Staphylococcus aureus toxin and occurring especially in menstruating women using high-absorbency tampons. Abbreviation: TSS

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of toxic shock syndrome

First recorded in 1975–80

Words nearby toxic shock syndrome

toxicol., toxicology, toxicopathic, toxicosis, toxic psychosis, toxic shock syndrome, toxic tetanus, toxic waste, toxigenic, toxin, toxin-antitoxin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use toxic shock syndrome in a sentence

Advanced maternal age dramatically increases the risk of maternal mortality as well as birth defects like Down Syndrome.
Men Will Someday Have Kids Without Women|Samantha Allen|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Citizens were watching in shock from above on the subway station.
Anger at The Cop Killer - And The Police|M.L. Nestel|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it is not actually as toxic as it seems (although, admittedly, it does seem pretty toxic).
New York’s Conservative Fracking Ban|Jay Michaelson|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But fans still feel the death was a last-minute decision made for shock value rather than to serve the story.
‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Demand: Bring Back Beth!|Melissa Leon|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Infernal, it can cause fires and explosions; toxic, it can debilitate, poison, and kill.
The Fiery Underground Oil Pit Eating L.A.|Geoff Manaugh|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Like an electric shock, the well-known chords of the Tragala aroused his hearers—every one crowded round the singer.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
The violent shock dazed Malcolm for a second, but all might yet have been well were it not for an unavoidable accident.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
She was a woman of too much natural and acquired poise to remain askew under any shock.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
He feared to shock her by the sudden mention of the Senora's death; yet that would harm her less than continued anxiety.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Were he a young man, they could save him by cutting off his leg high up, but as it is he would not stand the shock.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for toxic shock syndrome

toxic shock syndrome

noun

a potentially fatal condition, characterized by fever, stomachache, a painful rash, and a drop in blood pressure, that is caused by staphylococcal blood poisoning. In women it is most commonly caused by a retained tampon during menstruation

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

Medical definitions for toxic shock syndrome

toxic shock syndrome

An acute infection characterized by high fever, a sunburnlike rash, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed in severe cases by shock, that is caused by a toxin-producing strain of Staphylococcus aureus, occurring chiefly among young menstruating women who use vaginal tampons.toxic shock

Scientific definitions for toxic shock syndrome

toxic shock syndrome

[ tŏk′sĭk ]

An acute infection characterized by high fever, a sunburnlike rash, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed in severe cases by shock, that is caused by a toxin-producing strain of the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. It occurs chiefly among menstruating women who use tampons.