as in numbness
a lack of emotion or emotional expressiveness
a man of remarkable phlegm, never showing enthusiasm nor displeasure
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Recent Examples of phlegm
With just enough codeine to wash the phlegm away, Veeze folds slapstick one-liners into audacious flexes like origami.
—
Pitchfork, 30 Sep. 2025
The second is having either 10 or more pack years of smoking, or symptoms of cough, phlegm and trouble breathing.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
Diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease is made via chest X-ray, urine test and lab analysis of a phlegm sample.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 20 Aug. 2025
How brown phlegm looks can vary from person to person.
—Mark Gurarie, Health, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for phlegm
Pitchfork, 30 Sep. 2025
The second is having either 10 or more pack years of smoking, or symptoms of cough, phlegm and trouble breathing.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
Diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease is made via chest X-ray, urine test and lab analysis of a phlegm sample.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 20 Aug. 2025
How brown phlegm looks can vary from person to person.
—Mark Gurarie, Health, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for phlegm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phlegm
Noun
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Frostbite symptoms include redness or skin pain, white or grayish-yellow skin areas, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy and numbness, according to the CDC.—
Yi-Jin Yu,
ABC News,
23 Feb. 2026
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Rather than involving the wrist’s median nerve, the ulnar nerve in the elbow is compressed, resulting in numbness and tingling in some fingers along with aching pain in the elbow.—
Scott Lafee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For them, mental emptiness leads to physical clarity.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
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The rich 35mm frames are captured with a stillness that emphasizes the haunting emptiness around the characters.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Makio’s relationship with Shingo is rich and complicated, revealing new vulnerabilities in a character whose initially somewhat off-putting in her coldness.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
20 Feb. 2026
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Ideal snowmaking conditions today require a dewpoint temperature – the combination of coldness and humidity – of around 28 F (-2 C) or less.—
Sunshine Swetnam,
The Conversation,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The vision, centered on spreading the gospel to others, comes at a moment when church apathy and disaffiliation is on the rise across the nation, Martin said.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Feb. 2026
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By late March, challenging planets could bring on some brief depression or apathy.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phlegm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phlegm. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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