phlegm
the thick mucus secreted in the respiratory passages and discharged through the mouth, especially that occurring in the lungs and throat passages, as during a cold.
one of the four elemental bodily humors of medieval physiology, regarded as causing sluggishness or apathy.
sluggishness, indifference, or apathy.
self-possession, calmness, or composure.
Origin of phlegm
1Other words for phlegm
Opposites for phlegm
Other words from phlegm
- phlegmless, adjective
Words Nearby phlegm
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use phlegm in a sentence
If pathogens make it through your airways to the lungs, those pathogens can get stuck on phlegm.
Jellyfish snot can hurt people who never touch the animalGood germs lurk in gross placesThis tube worm’s glowing slime may help sustain its own shineFor coughing up phlegm, water is keyAh-choo!
In a world of physicians who thought you only needed to balance your humors in order to be well, Santorio wanted to know exactly how much phlegm was going into the equation.
I was never sure whether this was phlegm or the onset of lunacy.
There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquillity.
So after my father died I wrote a book, Fathers and Sons, with the intention of casting the Wavian phlegm out of my system.
Evelyn Waugh's Grandson on the Secret Behind 'Brideshead' | Alexander Waugh | April 17, 2010 | THE DAILY BEASTThe music and dancing are as dull as might be expected among beings so full of phlegm.
The Schoolmaster held his own horse and Lass, startled out of her peaceful phlegm by the terrifying roar and heat.
The Pioneers | Katharine Susannah PrichardIt is occasioned by the corruption of the meat, and the corruption of phlegm with a choleric humour.
The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher | AnonymousSometimes it happeneth by reason of the shrinking of certain sinews which go to the tongue, which are corrupted with phlegm.
The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher | AnonymousIt proceeds from a weakness of the spirits, or because warmth of digestion cause phlegm to abound in them.
The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher | Anonymous
British Dictionary definitions for phlegm
/ (flɛm) /
the viscid mucus secreted by the walls of the respiratory tract
archaic one of the four bodily humours
apathy; stolidity; indifference
self-possession; imperturbability; coolness
Origin of phlegm
1Derived forms of phlegm
- phlegmy, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for phlegm
[ flĕm ]
Thick mucus produced by the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, as during a cold or other respiratory infection.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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