What does anhidrotic mean?
Anhidrotic is a medical and scientific adjective describing something marked by, resulting from, or producing an absence of sweating. It applies in two main ways: to people or areas of the body that cannot perspire normally — as in anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder in which sweat glands fail to develop — and to drugs or agents that suppress sweat production. The word derives from Greek roots meaning 'without sweat', combining the negative prefix an- with hidros, the Greek word for sweat. Because normal sweating is essential for regulating body temperature, anhidrotic states are clinically significant: affected individuals risk overheating, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke, particularly in hot environments. The term sits within a family of sweat-related vocabulary alongside its opposite, diaphoretic (sweat-inducing), and related nouns such as anhidrosis and hyperhidrosis. Anhidrotic appears almost exclusively in clinical literature, patient information, and specialist discussion rather than everyday conversation, making it a precise, high-register term for describing impaired perspiration.
adjectiveRelating to, characterized by, or producing an absence of sweating; used especially in medicine to describe conditions or agents that impair or suppress perspiration.
- Characterized by or resulting from an absence of sweating (as of a person, body region, or medical condition).
- Causing or producing an absence of sweating (as of a drug or agent).
"The patient's anhidrotic skin left him unable to tolerate the summer heat."
"The biopsy confirmed an anhidrotic patch of skin on his forearm."
"Certain anticholinergic drugs have a pronounced anhidrotic effect."
People with anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia can't sweat at all — a condition so dangerous to body temperature that affected children were once called 'children without shadows' because they must stay out of the sun.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of anhidrotic
Anhidrotic comes from the Greek elements an- ('without') and hidrōs ('sweat'), reflecting the same root that gives us hidrosis, anhidrosis, and hyperhidrosis. The word entered English through medical Latin usage, joining the broader family of '-otic' adjectives used in medicine to describe pathological states. Its cognates include diaphoretic and sudorific, which describe the opposite action of inducing sweat.
How anhidrotic is actually used
A technical term found almost exclusively in medical and scientific writing; rarely encountered in everyday speech.
Easily confused with anhidrotic
Diaphoretic means promoting or inducing sweating, the exact opposite of anhidrotic, which means lacking or suppressing sweat.