mi·graine | \ ˈmī-ˌgrān 
, British often ˈmē- \
, British often ˈmē- \ plural migraines
Definition of migraine
1a : a condition marked by recurring moderate to severe headache with throbbing pain that usually lasts from four hours to three days, typically begins on one side of the head but may spread to both sides, is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound, and is sometimes preceded by an aura and is often followed by fatigue
Migraine affects three times as many women as men. — The Journal of the American Medical Association About 20 percent of migraine sufferers experience an aura as the first symptom of an attack. The aura may be a pulsing star of light, or a dance of geometric forms across the visual field …— Natalie Angier
b : a condition that is a variant form of the typical migraine but in which headache is absent or not a prominent symptom:
(1) : a condition in which an aura involving visual disturbances (such as diplopia, scotoma, or tunnel vision) is the main symptom and is not followed by headache
— called also acephalgic migraine, silent migraine
(2) : a condition that is marked by episodic bodily dysfunction (such as cyclic vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, vertigo, or unilateral weakness or paralysis) and may be accompanied by headache
abdominal migraine vestibular migraine In retinal migraine, repeated episodes of unilateral visual disorder occur with or without headache.— Sid Gilman
2 : an episode or attack of migraine
Most patients use a class of drugs known as "triptans," to relieve occasional migraines. But triptans don't work for 20% to 30% of patients.— Tara Parker-Pope
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Other Words from migraine
migrainous \ ˈmī-ˌgrā-nəs \ adjective
\ adjectiveExamples of migraine in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web In addition, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor left the game with a migraine.
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Kyle Hightower, orlandosentinel.com, "Patriots have much to fix with Newton’s status up in the air," 7 Oct. 2020 Gay, lesbian and bisexual participants had 58 percent higher odds of a migraine than their strictly heterosexual counterparts.
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Dan Avery, NBC News, "Gays, lesbians and bisexuals at higher migraine risk, study finds," 29 Sep. 2020 My body, my right eye in particular, decided to play Thor, hurler of thunderbolts, with first an ocular migraine and then another problem that needed immediate relief.
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Maria Shine Stewart, cleveland, "It’s okay to take a break: Sun Messages," 28 Sep. 2020 Then, alto Julia Donohue’s migraine turned into a fever.
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USA Today, "How the CDC failed local public health officials fighting the coronavirus," 16 Sep. 2020 That’s not particularly surprising, especially because hormonal changes around the time of your period or ovulation are some of the most common migraine triggers.
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Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "Chrissy Teigen Is Getting Botox While Pregnant—Here’s Why," 8 Sep. 2020 If a migraine increases her blood pressure too much, the aneurysm could rupture and be life threatening.
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Sara Harrison, Wired, "A Postal Slowdown Is Scary for Those Who Get Meds By Mail," 24 Aug. 2020 That means, somewhere out there, a mom is trying to parent through a migraine.
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Tonilyn Hornung, Good Housekeeping, "Migraines Disproportionately Affect Women, and They Can Make Parenting Feel Impossible," 30 June 2020 Patients who received Botox injections to treat excessive sweating, facial wrinkles, migraine, spasticity and spasms reported depression 40% to 88% less often than people who underwent different treatments for the same conditions.
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Kristen Rogers, CNN, "Botox could ease depression in addition to wrinkles, study finds," 30 July 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'migraine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for migraine
migraine
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of migraine
: a very bad headache
See the full definition for migraine in the English Language Learners Dictionary
migraine
nounmi·graine | \ ˈmī-ˌgrān, British often ˈmē- \
Medical Definition of migraine
1a : a condition marked by recurring moderate to severe headache with throbbing pain that usually lasts from four hours to three days, typically begins on one side of the head but may spread to both sides, is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound, and is sometimes preceded by an aura and is often followed by fatigue
Note: Migraine tends to occur in more than one member of a family and is of uncertain origin though attacks appear to be associated with dilation of intracranial blood vessels and release of serotonin and other inflammatory substances.
Migraine is a common disorder that can severely affect patients' quality of life and daily function. The patients typically have attacks of unilateral, pulsating, severe or moderately severe headache aggravated by routine physical activity … — The New England Journal of Medicine About 20 percent of migraine sufferers experience an aura as the first symptom of an attack. The aura may be a pulsing star of light, or a dance of geometric forms across the visual field …— Natalie Angierb : a condition that is a variant form of the typical migraine but in which headache is absent or not a prominent symptom:
(1) : a condition in which an aura involving visual disturbances (as diplopia, scotoma, or tunnel vision) is the main symptom and is not followed by headache
Approximately 20% of migraineurs may experience acephalgic attacks of migraine at one time or another. Indeed, that various symptoms can occur in the absence of any headache has been noted for some time; in fact, visual phenomena were described as early as the 12th century.— Donald M. Pedersen et al.
— called also acephalgic migraine, silent migraine
(2) : a condition that is marked by episodic bodily dysfunction (as cyclic vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, vertigo, or unilateral weakness or paralysis) and may be accompanied by headache
abdominal migraine vestibular migraine In retinal migraine, repeated episodes of unilateral visual disorder occur with or without headache.— Sid Gilman
2 : an episode or attack of migraine
Most patients use a class of drugs known as "triptans," such as Imitrex, to relieve occasional migraines. But triptans don't work for 20% to 30% of patients.— Tara Parker-Pope Lynn Goldstein, a dietitian at Weill Cornell, advises patients to remove suspected "trigger" foods from their diet for a period of time and monitor how their migraines are affected. — Food & Fitness Advisor
— called also sick headache
Other Words from migraine
migrainous \ -ˌgrā-nəs \ adjective
\ adjectiveComments on migraine
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Time Traveler for migraine
The first known use of migraine was in the 15th century
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