colicky
Britishadjective
Explanation
When a baby cries from the pain and discomfort of indigestion, you can describe her as colicky. A colicky baby doesn't get much sleep — and neither do her parents. While there are different sorts of colic, or abdominal pain, the adjective colicky is most often used to describe human infants. Because babies can't tell you where it hurts, long bouts of crying frequently result in a diagnosis of a colicky baby. Doctors guess that being colicky is a result of intestinal gas or other digestive troubles, and the root of the word is the Greek kolon, "lower intestine."
Vocabulary lists containing colicky
Under a Painted Sky
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Race to the Sun
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was colicky and I had times when I was holding him and thought 'I wish Mum was here'.
From BBC • Nov. 20, 2023
It’s been a colicky week on the Hill, and that table has likely seen a lot of action.
From Slate • Sep. 23, 2023
Because apartment residents are likely to be younger than their single-family homeowner neighbors, their “social noise” could come from a colicky infant, bickering siblings or bursts of rebellious teenage music.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2023
Ruby is a colicky baby, and as Jo strives to summon up soothing techniques, she seesaws between the compulsive urge to safeguard the infant and the uncomfortable sensation of begrudging her existence.
From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2023
“Allow me to present my colleague, Dr. Lumley,” he would announce to a lame horse or a colicky calf.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
