bulimia

noun

bu·​lim·​ia bü-ˈlē-mē-ə How to pronounce bulimia (audio) byü- How to pronounce bulimia (audio) -ˈli- How to pronounce bulimia (audio)
1
: a serious eating disorder that occurs chiefly in females, is characterized by compulsive overeating usually followed by self-induced vomiting or laxative or diuretic abuse, and is often accompanied by guilt and depression

called also bulimia nervosa

2
: an abnormal and constant craving for food
bulimic adjective or noun

Examples of bulimia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The season also chronicled her struggle with bulimia. Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2023 Stoner noted that what originally began as orthorexia, an obsession with healthy eating, evolved into severe restriction, exercise bulimia, and binge eating. Amy Rosner, Peoplemag, 18 Sep. 2023 The center helps treat anorexia, restrictive eating, bulimia and binge-eating disorder and hosts programs online and in person. Samia Salahi, The Arizona Republic, 8 June 2023 About 36 percent of people with anorexia develop bulimia at some point, and 27 percent of people with bulimia develop anorexia, according to one study. Kate Siber, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2022 But while those conditions have started to ebb, clinicians say anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder are still at their high water mark, an observation bolstered by recent data from the CDC showing ER visits for eating disorders remained up by more than 50% from 2019. Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2023 Beth Rose, co-founder of the Alaska Eating Disorders Alliance, said there’s been a steep rise in the number of people younger than 17 with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 28 June 2023 Kesha is also in ongoing recovery for bulimia, which began with a two-month inpatient rehab stay in 2014. Amy Rose Spiegel, SELF, 20 June 2023 Women are more likely to suffer from eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia, but research, diagnosis and treatment lag for men, LGBTQ individuals, and Latina and Black women. Samia Salahi, The Arizona Republic, 8 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bulimia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek boulimia great hunger, from bou-, augmentative prefix (from bous head of cattle) + limos hunger — more at cow

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of bulimia was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near bulimia

Cite this Entry

“Bulimia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bulimia. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

bulimia

noun
bu·​lim·​ia bü-ˈlē-mē-ə How to pronounce bulimia (audio) byü- How to pronounce bulimia (audio)
: a serious eating disorder mainly of young women that is characterized by compulsive overeating usually followed by intentional vomiting or laxative abuse
bulimic adjective

Medical Definition

bulimia

noun
variants also boulimia
1
: an abnormal and constant craving for food

called also hyperorexia

2
: a serious eating disorder that occurs chiefly in females, is characterized by compulsive overeating usually followed by self-induced vomiting or laxative or diuretic abuse, and is often accompanied by guilt and depression

More from Merriam-Webster on bulimia

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