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looseness

looseness

7.4
Frequent loose, watery bowel movements often caused by infection
  • noun
  • /ˈluːs.nəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : diarrea
  • She had suffered everything: vertigo, convulsions, spasms, deliriums, looseness of the bowels and bladder, and she rolled on the floor howling in pain and fury.

Examples

  • A stomach virus can cause unpleasant symptoms, including frequent looseness of the bowels.

  • No urgency, no looseness, no pain, no blood, only one daily constitution.

    Blog text (2)
  • Numerous men experience unwanted effects from this treatment, including looseness of the bowels, headache, faintness, eructation, upset stomach, and more.

    Blog text (23)
  • The doctor explained that the patient experienced severe looseness due to food poisoning.

  • After eating contaminated food, she was troubled by the looseness in her bowel movements.

Synonyms

diarrhea
vslooseness
  • US
81 2.1

Frequent watery bowel movements that can cause dehydration

is the same idea but given as a symptom phrase not a named condition
looseness of the bowels
vslooseness
  • Specialized
6.8

Frequent watery bowel movements that happen when you are ill

is identical in meaning but given as a shorter medical label

Antonyms

18 3.4

Difficulty passing hard or infrequent stools that may be painful

Compounds

6.8

Frequent watery bowel movements that happen when you are ill

How Severe

dysentery
15 7.9
looseness
  • Specialized
7.4
diarrhea
  • US
81 2.1

Surface Forms

looseness singular
loosenesses plural

Morphology

looseness = loose (semi-transparent) = loose + ness

Formed from 'loose' + '-ness', but the specific medical sense ('looseness' = diarrhoea) is a specialized extension not automatically predictable for all learners.

Etymology

Looseness comes from loose + -ness, with loose originally meaning 'not firm' or 'free'. In medicine that image became used for stools that are soft and watery, so looseness can mean frequent, watery bowel movements.