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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

constipate.

To cause constipation in, render costive.

10 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈkɒnstɪˌpeɪt/
  1. To cause constipation in, render costive.

    ambitransitive
    The medication can constipate you if you’re not drinking enough water.
    The long hours of travel seemed to constipate his digestion.
  2. To constrict, contract (tissues, the body, fibres, etc.); to make firm and compact by pressing together.

    obsolete
  3. To pack or crowd together.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

The adjective is first attested circa 1425, in Middle English, the verb in 1541; inherited from Middle English constipat(e) (“constipated”), borrowed Medieval Latin cōnstīpātus (“constipated”) (or through its Old French equivalent constipé), perfect passive participle of Medieval Latin cōnstīpō (“to cause constipation, to constipate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Classical Latin cōnstīpō (“to crowd or press tightly together”) (whence obsoleted sense 2 and 3), itself from con- + stīpō (“to press, cram”). Cognate with Middle English constipen (“to constipate”) and doublet of costive; related to stiff.

adj/ˈkɒnstɪˌpeɪt/
  1. Constipated, costive.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

The adjective is first attested circa 1425, in Middle English, the verb in 1541; inherited from Middle English constipat(e) (“constipated”), borrowed Medieval Latin cōnstīpātus (“constipated”) (or through its Old French equivalent constipé), perfect passive participle of Medieval Latin cōnstīpō (“to cause constipation, to constipate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Classical Latin cōnstīpō (“to crowd or press tightly together”) (whence obsoleted sense 2 and 3), itself from con- + stīpō (“to press, cram”). Cognate with Middle English constipen (“to constipate”) and doublet of costive; related to stiff.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.