bulimia nervosa

noun

"bulimia-nervosa" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bulimia nervosa” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An eating disorder characterized by a binge-and-purge cycle: extreme overeating followed by self-induced vomiting.

Key facts for bulimia nervosa
PropertyValue
Headwordbulimia nervosa
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bulimia nervosa” sits in English frequency

bulimia nervosa falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bulimia nervosa is 15 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "An eating disorder characterized by a binge-and-purge cycle: extreme overeating followed by self-induced vomiting.".

Zero misspellings are on record for bulimia nervosa in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin bulimia, from Ancient Greek βουλῑμία (boulīmía, “ravenous hunger”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) + λῑμός (līmós, “hunger, famine”) and Latin nervosa. The correct English form is bulimia nervosa, spelled B-U-L-I-M-I-A- -N-E-R-V-O-S-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    An eating disorder characterized by a binge-and-purge cycle: extreme overeating followed by self-induced vomiting.

Etymology

From Latin bulimia, from Ancient Greek βουλῑμία (boulīmía, “ravenous hunger”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) + λῑμός (līmós, “hunger, famine”) and Latin nervosa.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bulimia nervosa"?
"bulimia nervosa" is spelled B-U-L-I-M-I-A- -N-E-R-V-O-S-A.
What does "bulimia nervosa" mean?
As a noun, "bulimia nervosa" means: An eating disorder characterized by a binge-and-purge cycle: extreme overeating followed by self-induced vomiting.
What is the origin of the word "bulimia nervosa"?
From Latin bulimia, from Ancient Greek βουλῑμία (boulīmía, “ravenous hunger”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) + λῑμός (līmós, “hunger, famine”) and Latin nervosa. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “bulimia nervosa”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-U-L-I-M-I-A- -N-E-R-V-O-S-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list