diarrhea

noun di·ar·rhea \ ˌdī-ə-ˈrē-ə \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Examples: diarrhea in a Sentence

Definition of diarrhea

1 : abnormally frequent intestinal evacuations with more or less fluid stools (see ¹stool 3b)

symptoms include fever, nausea, and diarrhea

2 : excessive flow

verbal diarrhea

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diarrheal

play \-ˈrē-əl\ adjective

—

diarrheic

play \-ˈrē-ik\ adjective

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diarrhetic

play \-ˈre-tik\ adjective

See diarrhea defined for English-language learners

See diarrhea defined for kids

Examples of diarrhea in a Sentence

The symptoms of the disease include fever, nausea, and diarrhea.
I was taken with severe diarrhea while attending the conference.

Recent Examples of diarrhea from the Web

Eating too much over an extended period can cause the dog to suffer from diarrhea, vomiting and unusually heavy breathing.

— david j. neal, miamiherald, "What got this dog food recalled might have caused thyroid problems in four pooches," 13 June 2018
After several days to two weeks, new symptoms would emerge: diarrhea, hair loss, fever, seizures, and bleeding in the mouth and under the skin, which sometimes creates purple blotches on the body.

— Daily Intelligencer, "This Is What a Nuclear Bomb Looks Like," 12 June 2018
Uncontrolled diarrhea could be blamed on a mother’s faulty potty training.

— jim carrier, STAT, "Lobotomies were once used to treat this gut disease, part of a shameful medical history," 12 June 2018
Symptoms are typically treated with anti-nausea or anti-diarrhea medications, though sometimes antibiotics are warranted.

— tresa baldas, Detroit Free Press, "Tainted melons trigger 3 salmonella lawsuits in Midwest," 12 June 2018
Soon after, 17-month-old Noah developed a fever, chills, mild diarrhea and nasal congestion.

— kaila white, azcentral, "After salmonella nearly killed their toddler, Glendale parents sue Foster Farms – and win," 11 June 2018
Most persons infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection.

— david j. neal, chicagotribune.com, "Here’s what you need to know about the pre-cut melon salmonella outbreak," 11 June 2018
Common symptoms of these conditions include cramping, bloating, diarrhea, constipation and fatigue.

— emily rubin, rd, ldn, Philly.com, "Going gluten free? Dietitian shares unexpected sources of gluten," 11 June 2018
The young boy was plagued with fatigue, diarrhea, fever, headaches and pain in his abdomen, according to his mother.

— madeline farber, Fox News, "Mom warns others after son, 5, contracts rare disease from tick bite," 9 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diarrhea.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of diarrhea

Middle English diaria, from Late Latin diarrhoea, from Greek diarrhoia, from diarrhein to flow through, from dia- + rhein to flow — more at stream

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year