Standard Lemma guide

polydipsia

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Excessive and constant thirst, caused by disease.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: anadipsia

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

excessive thirst (as in cases of diabetes or kidney dysfunction)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: thirst, thirstiness

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pleh1- Proto-Indo-European *polh1ús Ancient Greek πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)lbor. English poly- English -dipsia English polydipsia From poly- + -dipsia.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 多渴症 (duōkězhèng) — excessive thirst
  • Finnish: vesijuoppous — excessive thirst
  • Finnish: polydipsia — excessive thirst
  • French: polydipsie — excessive thirst
  • Italian: polydipsia — excessive thirst
  • Polish: polidypsja — excessive thirst
  • Portuguese: polydipsia — excessive thirst
  • Spanish: polydipsia — excessive thirst