What does micturate mean?
To micturate is to urinate, or discharge urine from the body. The word is formal and technical in tone, appearing especially in medical and scientific writing, as well as in legal or historical contexts. It is not usually the first choice in everyday conversation, where “urinate” is more natural. Despite its clinical appearance, “micturate” simply refers to a routine bodily function. A doctor might ask a patient to micturate before an examination, while a medical report might describe increased frequency of micturition. The term is especially useful when a precise, professional register is appropriate, although its specialized character can sound conspicuously formal in casual speech. Its derivatives include “micturition,” the process of passing urine, and “micturient,” meaning relating to or causing urination.
verbTo urinate, especially in formal or clinical contexts. It is used more often in writing than in everyday speech.
- To discharge urine.
"The patient was asked to micturate before the examination."
"The study measured how often the participants needed to micturate during the night."
"He had to micturate shortly after drinking a large glass of water."
A perfectly respectable word for an everyday bodily function: “micturate” is the formal version of “urinate.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does micturate come from?
The word comes from Latin micturire, “to urinate,” which was formed as an intensive or repeated-action form related to mictare, “to urinate.” The Latin root is also reflected in micturition and other medical terms associated with urination. English borrowed the form in the 17th century, initially in medical and scholarly writing, and it has remained more formal than the native everyday verb “urinate.”
Related word forms
How micturate is actually used
Formal and somewhat technical. It is common in medical, legal, and scientific writing, but usually sounds unnecessarily elaborate in ordinary conversation.
Easily confused with micturate
Both mean to discharge urine, but “micturate” is the more formal, technical, or clinical term, while “urinate” is the ordinary everyday word.