constipation
/ˌkɒnstɪˈpeɪʃən/noun
constipation is spelled C-O-N-S-T-I-P-A-T-I-O-N: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, constipation means “A state of the bowels in which the evacuations are infrequent and difficult, or the intestines become filled with hardened faeces” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of constipation is constipations.
How many letters and syllables are in constipation?
| Letters | 12: C-O-N-S-T-I-P-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,745th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is constipation?
Constipation appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce constipation?
- /ˌkɒnstɪˈpeɪʃən/
Constipation has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-constipation.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-constipation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of constipation
- constipations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does constipation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A state of the bowels in which the evacuations are infrequent and difficult, or the intestines become filled with hardened faeces.
- 2
The act of crowding anything into a lesser space, or the state of being crowded or pressed together; condensation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Constipation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense state of bowels:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | constipation |
| German | Obstipation, Verstopfung |
| Portuguese | constipação, prisão de ventre |
| Spanish | constipación, estreñimiento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does constipation come from?
First attested in the beginning of the 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English constipacioun, borrowed from Medieval Latin constīpātiō or its Old French equivalent, from cōnstīpō + -tiō. By surface analysis, constipate + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).