What does constipate mean?
Constipate is a medical verb meaning to cause someone to suffer from constipation — a condition in which bowel movements become infrequent, difficult, or incomplete. It is nearly always used transitively, with an external agent such as a medication, a diet, or an underlying illness doing the causing: doctors might say that iron supplements or opioid painkillers can constipate patients, or that a low-fibre diet may constipate children. The word belongs chiefly to clinical, pharmaceutical, and health-journalism registers; in ordinary speech, English speakers rarely say that something "constipates" them, instead reaching for the adjective "constipated" (as in "I feel constipated") or the noun "constipation". Etymologically it derives from the Latin constipare, formed from com- ("together") and stipare ("to press, pack, or cram tight"), so the original metaphor is one of matter being packed densely together — an image preserved faithfully in both the verb and its much more common noun counterpart, constipation.
verbTo cause a person or animal to suffer from constipation, a condition in which bowel movements become difficult, infrequent, or incomplete.
- (Medicine, transitive) To cause a person or animal to develop constipation; to make the bowels sluggish or difficult to evacuate.
"Doctors warn that opioid painkillers can constipate patients who take them for extended periods."
"A diet low in fibre can easily constipate young children."
"The pharmacist explained which over-the-counter remedies tend to constipate older adults."
"Constipate" comes straight from the Latin constipare — literally "to press or cram together" — the same image behind its far more familiar noun cousin, constipation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of constipate
Constipate originates from the Latin verb constipare, a compound of com- ("together") and stipare, meaning "to press together, pack, or cram tightly." The word entered English in the early modern period, carrying the literal idea of matter being packed compactly into the bowels. Its most familiar relative is the noun constipation, which has long overshadowed the verb in everyday usage; the past-participle adjective constipated is likewise derived directly from the same source.
Related word forms
How constipate is actually used
The verb is used almost exclusively in medical and health-writing contexts, typically in the transitive voice with a drug, food, or condition as the subject. In everyday conversation people overwhelmingly prefer the adjective "constipated" or the noun "constipation" rather than the bare verb.
Easily confused with constipate
To consternate means to fill someone with alarm or dismay, whereas to constipate refers specifically to causing difficulty with bowel movements.