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Glite Dictionary
intestinal flu

intestinal flu

3.1
An infection of the stomach and intestines that causes vomiting and diarrhea
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈtɛstɪnəl flu/
translation icon : gastroenteritis
  • The doctor diagnosed his illness as intestinal flu after he developed severe stomach cramps and vomiting.

Examples

  • The doctor said it was just intestinal flu.

  • During the outbreak, many children missed school due to intestinal flu.

  • She avoided eating out for a month after catching intestinal flu on holiday.

  • She has been diagnosed with intestinal flu.

  • After contracting intestinal flu, she experienced severe vomiting and diarrhea for several days.

  • Doctors advise staying hydrated if you have intestinal flu to help ease symptoms like nausea.

  • The children were sent home from school because they both had intestinal flu and were feeling very ill.

Synonyms

stomach flu
vsintestinal flu
  • Informal
9 2.5

An illness that makes your stomach and intestines sore and swollen, causing vomiting and diarrhea

is the formal medical term rather than an informal label
gastroenteritis
vsintestinal flu
  • Specialized
5 5.8

An illness that makes the stomach and intestines sore and causes vomiting and diarrhea

is the same but specifies viral or bacterial infection as cause

How Severe

gastroenteritis
  • Specialized
5 5.8
intestinal flu
3.1

Surface Forms

intestinal flu singular
intestinal flus plural

Morphology

intestinal + flu

The adjective 'intestinal' (related to the intestines) combined with 'flu' (a viral illness) yields a straightforward compositional meaning — a flu affecting the intestines, i.e. gastroenteritis. This is a regular adjective+noun construction and is cross‑linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Intestinal flu is like the flu but in the intestines: imagine the usual flu feeling moving into your 'stomach' and 'bowels' so you get vomiting and diarrhea. That's why the name means an infection that makes your stomach and intestines very sick.