fetal alcohol syndrome

noun

: a highly variable group of birth defects including intellectual disability, deficient growth, and malformations of the skull and face that tend to occur in the offspring of women who consume large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The deficits, Connor emphasized, were consistent with someone affected by fetal alcohol syndrome. —Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2022

Her counsel wrote that McLaughlin has been diagnosed with borderline intellectual disability, brain damage and fetal alcohol syndrome. —Maham Javaid, Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2023

The experts said Cruz’s behaviors were consistent with fetal alcohol syndrome one of the conditions that fall under the umbrella of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). —Sun Sentinel, 17 Sep. 2022

The prosecution hopes the psychiatrist’s testimony will rebut claims made by Cruz’s attorneys that his mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy led him to suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome, leading to the shooting and his violent behavior. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2022

Scott said Cruz’s actions are more consistent with Antisocial Personality Disorder than anything to do with fetal alcohol syndrome. —Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 3 Oct. 2022

Kenneth Lyons Jones, a pediatrician and one of the first two doctors in the country to identify fetal alcohol syndrome as a medical condition, was brought in Tuesday to testify with even more precision about Cruz’s ailments. —David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel, 13 Sep. 2022

The judge will first hold a hearing without the jury to decide if defense lawyers can use a map of Mr. Cruz’s brain as evidence of the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. —New York Times, 5 Aug. 2022

The judge will first hold a hearing without the jury to decide if defense lawyers can use a map of Cruz’s brain as evidence of the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. —Patricia Mazzei, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

fetal alcohol syndrome

noun

: a variable group of birth defects including deficient mental and physical growth that tend to occur in the offspring of women who drink large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy

Medical Definition

fetal alcohol syndrome

noun

: a highly variable group of birth defects including intellectual disability, deficient growth, central nervous system dysfunction, and malformations of the skull and face that tend to occur in the offspring of women who consume large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy

—abbreviation FAS