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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pro͞o-rīʹtəs
/pɹuːˈɹaɪtəs/
1
noun
Meaning 1
Itching; especially, severe itching of undamaged skin; caused by allergy, infection, lymphoma, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Topics: medicine, sciences
Examples
2018, AbbVie, "FDA Grants AbbVie's Upadacitinib Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Atopic Dermatitis", Drug Discovery & Development Atopic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease, is characterized by skin erosion, oozing and crusting, redness, intense itching (pruritus) and dry skin.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
an intense itching sensation that can have various causes (as by allergies or infection or lymphoma or jaundice etc.)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: itch, itchiness, itching
Narrower terms: pruritus ani, pruritus vulvae
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin prūrītus (“an itch, an itching”), from prūriō (“to itch”).
Across languages
Translations
1 source translations are retained for this English entry.
