tenesmus

te·nes·mus  (t-nzms)

n.

A painfully urgent but ineffectual attempt to urinate or defecate.

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[Medieval Latin tnesmus, variant of Latin tnesmos, from Greek teinesmos, from teinein, to strain, stretch; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

tenesmus - painful spasm of the anal sphincter along with an urgent desire to defecate without the significant production of feces; associated with irritable bowel syndrome cramp, muscle spasm, spasm - a painful and involuntary muscular contraction