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Glite Dictionary
looseness of the bowels

looseness of the bowels

6.8
Frequent watery bowel movements that happen when you are ill
  • noun
  • /ˈluːs.nəs əv ðə baʊəlz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : diarrea
  • After eating spoiled food, she suffered from looseness of the bowels for several days.

Examples

  • Children often experience looseness of the bowels after consuming dairy if they are lactose intolerant.

  • The doctor advised him to stay hydrated due to the looseness of the bowels caused by the infection.

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

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Synonyms

diarrhea
vslooseness of the bowels
  • US
81 2.1

Frequent watery bowel movements that can cause dehydration

is used mainly for illness from infection or food poisoning rather than broad disorders
looseness
vslooseness of the bowels
  • Specialized
7.4

Frequent loose, watery bowel movements often caused by infection

has the same meaning but is a more general plain expression

Antonyms

constipation
18 3.4

Difficulty passing hard or infrequent stools that may be painful

How Severe

dysentery
15 7.9
looseness of the bowels
  • Specialized
6.8
diarrhea
  • US
81 2.1

Surface Forms

looseness of the bowels singular
loosenesses of the bowels plural

Morphology

looseness + of + the + bowel

The phrase is compositionally built from 'looseness' (lack of firmness) + 'of the bowels' (digestive tract), so its meaning—bowel motions that are loose/watery—is directly inferable from the parts. This construction (loose/soft stools) is common cross-linguistically and, despite its slightly medical register, a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to understand it.

Etymology

Looseness of the bowels comes from the simple image of the looseness of the bowels, so the stools are watery and come more often. That's why it means 'frequent, watery bowel movements' or 'diarrhea'.