Phlegm (Noun)
Meaning 1
Apathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions.
Classification
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions.
Examples
- Her voice was laced with phlegm as she barely registered a response to the news of her ex's wedding.
- The crowd watched the performance with phlegm, their faces a picture of boredom and disinterest.
- After months of trying to drum up enthusiasm, the team's leader was met with phlegm from his usually lively colleagues.
- The actor's phlegm was so convincing that it was hard to tell if he was simply playing the role or actually felt nothing.
- The audience's phlegm was palpable as the comedian struggled to get a laugh from the unresponsive crowd.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 2
Inactivity; showing an unusual lack of energy; "the general appearance of sluggishness alarmed his friends".
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- Her natural vitality had given way to a disturbing phlegm, leaving her lethargic and unresponsive to even the most stimulating activities.
- The artist's usual creative fervor was replaced by a listlessness that bordered on phlegm, causing him to question whether he was experiencing a creative block or something more serious.
- After weeks of sedentary living, the college student's phlegm had become so pronounced that his friends staged an intervention, encouraging him to reengage with the world outside his dorm room.
- A sudden and unexplained phlegm had taken hold of the normally energetic entrepreneur, and her business partners began to worry about the future of their company.
- The retiree's phlegm had become so pronounced that his children grew concerned that he was succumbing to the very conditions he had always actively sought to avoid.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 3
Expectorated matter; saliva mixed with discharges from the respiratory passages; in ancient and medieval physiology it was believed to cause sluggishness.
Classification
Nouns denoting body parts.
Examples
- The doctor asked her to cough up some phlegm so he could examine it for signs of infection.
- After a long illness, I was constantly spitting up globs of yellow phlegm.
- The patient's cough brought up a mixture of mucus and phlegm that was tested for TB.
- In ancient times, it was believed that an excess of phlegm in the body could cause a person to become lethargic and sluggish.
- The congestion in my chest loosened, and I started bringing up thick chunks of phlegm when I coughed.