What does anorexia mean?
Anorexia is a noun meaning a loss of appetite or refusal to eat, and in contemporary usage it nearly always refers to anorexia nervosa, a serious psychiatric eating disorder in which a person restricts food severely, fears weight gain intensely, and often perceives their body inaccurately. The condition can cause dangerous weight loss and serious medical complications, and it typically requires professional treatment combining medical care and psychological therapy. In a broader, older sense, anorexia simply denotes diminished appetite arising from illness, medication, grief, or other causes — a meaning still used in clinical contexts. Because the bare word now evokes the disorder so strongly, writers usually reserve it for that meaning and use phrases like 'loss of appetite' for ordinary cases. Related terms include the adjectives 'anorexic' and 'anorectic,' and the fuller diagnostic label 'anorexia nervosa.' Understanding the word matters both for health literacy and for recognizing how language shapes perception of mental illness.
nounLoss of appetite or desire to eat, especially when prolonged; in modern usage most often refers specifically to anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder marked by an intense fear of weight gain and severe restriction of food intake.
- Anorexia nervosa: a serious eating disorder characterized by restricted food intake, intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image.
- General loss of appetite, especially as a symptom of illness, medication, or emotional distress.
"After weeks of unexplained weight loss, her doctors finally diagnosed anorexia."
"She was hospitalized after her anorexia left her dangerously underweight."
"His chemotherapy-induced anorexia made it difficult to maintain his strength during treatment."
Rarely pluralized; the word is normally treated as an uncountable noun referring to the condition in general.
"Clinicians distinguish atypical presentations from classic anorexias in diagnostic manuals."
The word comes from the Greek 'an-' (without) plus 'orexis' (appetite) — so literally, 'without appetite' — yet people with anorexia nervosa often still feel hunger; what's lost isn't appetite itself but the willingness to act on it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of anorexia
The word derives from Greek: the prefix 'an-' meaning 'without' combined with 'orexis,' meaning appetite or desire, so it literally translates as 'without appetite.' It entered English via Latin and New Latin medical usage, becoming established in English medical vocabulary by the early modern period. The specific syndrome 'anorexia nervosa' was named in the nineteenth century, fixing the association between the word and the eating disorder that dominates its modern usage.
Related word forms
How anorexia is actually used
In everyday and medical conversation, 'anorexia' almost always implies the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, so the bare word carries strong connotations of serious mental illness. When referring to ordinary appetite loss from illness, clinicians more often say 'loss of appetite' or 'poor intake.' The adjective forms are 'anorexic' (colloquial) and 'anorectic' (more formal/technical).
Easily confused with anorexia
Bulimia involves cycles of binge eating followed by purging, whereas anorexia involves severe restriction of food intake and marked weight loss.
'Anorexia' broadly means loss of appetite from any cause, while 'anorexia nervosa' is the specific psychiatric eating disorder.