anorexia ner·vo·sa
(nûr-vō′sə)n.
An eating disorder that is characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted self-image, a persistent unwillingness to eat, and extremely low body weight, and is often accompanied by self-induced vomiting or excessive exercise. It most commonly affects young women and can lead to amenorrhea, malnutrition, brittle bones, and other physiological changes.
[New Latin anorexia nervōsa : anorexia, anorexia + nervōsa, feminine of nervōsus, nervous.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
anorex′ia ner•vo′sa
(nɜrˈvoʊ sə)n.
an eating disorder characterized by a fear of becoming fat, a distorted body image, and excessive dieting leading to emaciation.
[1870–75; < New Latin: nervous anorexia]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
an·o·rex·i·a ner·vo·sa
(ăn′ə-rĕk′sē-ə nûr-vō′sə) A disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming obese and by persistent efforts to lose weight, leading to severe weight loss and malnourishment. It most commonly affects young women, who often stop menstruating, develop brittle bones, and experience other physical changes as a result.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
anorexia nervosa
a neurotic disorder charaeterized by refusal to eat and abnormal fear of obesity, seen especially in adolescent girls. — anorectic, anorexic, adj.
See also: Disease and Illness-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  anorexia nervosa - (psychiatry) a psychological disorder characterized by somatic delusions that you are too fat despite being emaciatedpsychiatry, psychological medicine, psychopathology - the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders anorexia - a prolonged disorder of eating due to loss of appetite |
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