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Glite Dictionary
detumescence

detumescence

9.9
A swollen body part becomes smaller
  • noun
  • /ˌdiːtjuːˈmɛsəns/
  • Specialized
translation icon : detumescencia
  • Following each film segment, participants had a minimum of a 3-minute recovery phase to achieve complete detumescence.

Examples

  • The detumescence of the athlete's ankle was evident after a few days of rest and ice treatment.

  • In the first place, the mucus becomes the perfect figure for love, cynically reduced to the tumescence and detumescence of coitus.

    Academic text (1990)

  • If no complete detumescence was achieved after that period, the participants were asked to perform mental arithmetic tasks until penile erection returned to baseline.

    Academic text (2004)

  • After the inflammation decreased, the doctor noted the detumescence of the swollen tissue around the injury.

  • By measuring the detumescence, the researchers could assess the effectiveness of the treatment on the swelling.

Antonyms

enlargement
11 3.3

An increase in size or amount

swelling
3 3.7

A raised, often painful area on the body after injury or infection

Surface Forms

detumescence singular
detumescences plural

Morphology

detumescence = tumescence (semi-transparent) = de + tumesc + ence

If a learner knows 'tumescence' meaning swelling, the prefix 'de-' straightforwardly signals reduction or reversal of that state.

Etymology

Detumescence comes from Latin parts de- 'down' and tumescere 'to swell', the same root you see in tumor. So detumescence is the swelling 'going down' or 'shrinking', which is why doctors use it when a body part returns to its normal size.