as in numbness
a lack of emotion or emotional expressiveness
a man of remarkable phlegm, never showing enthusiasm nor displeasure
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of phlegm
Those sacs of air fill with fluid or pus, causing a cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills and trouble breathing, according to the clinic.
—
Rebecca Cohen,
NBC news,
16 Oct. 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
The way the seasons withered crops or provoked tree sap to flow might manifest in the body as yellow bile surging in the summer, and cold, wet phlegm dripping in the winter.
—
Meg Leja,
The Conversation,
2 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for phlegm
Rebecca Cohen,
NBC news,
16 Oct. 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
The way the seasons withered crops or provoked tree sap to flow might manifest in the body as yellow bile surging in the summer, and cold, wet phlegm dripping in the winter.
—
Meg Leja,
The Conversation,
2 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for phlegm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phlegm
Noun
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Over time, some people even begin experiencing side effects, emotional numbness or a feeling that the medication is no longer helping in the same way.
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Webb, the Oklahoma radiologist, documented four times that a patient lacked numbness, and yet his WISeR application was still denied, citing numbness, which, in the reviewer's interpretation, would rule out the spinal surgery procedure.
Noun
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The condition is marked by intense emotional swings, a chronic feeling of emptiness, and a deep fear of abandonment.
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Interstellar space is unforgivingly vast, but the emptiness has some advantages.
Noun
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Her fierce intelligence helps paper over some of the screenplay’s rougher transitions, and even lends a measure of legibility to Sylvia’s sudden coldness.
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The bureaucratic coldness of Bolshevik Communism and the violent regressions of Fascism were yet worse.
Noun
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The council’s decision to shelve so many reforms will only fuel public apathy and distrust, said Ross Weistroffer, an organizer with Fair Rep LA Coalition, a group of nonprofits that pushes for good government and fair representation.
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The league has taken steps to address tanking, but curbing that problem alone won’t stop injury issues that are just as much a part of the growing apathy that many fans feel towards the regular season.
Cite this Entry
“Phlegm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phlegm. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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