anorexia nervosa

noun

anorexia ner·​vo·​sa -(ˌ)nər-ˈvō-sə How to pronounce anorexia nervosa (audio)
-zə
: a serious disorder in eating behavior that is characterized especially by a pathological fear of weight gain leading to faulty eating patterns, malnutrition, and usually excessive weight loss and that occurs most commonly in young women in their teens and early twenties

Examples of anorexia nervosa in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Tarpley was admitted to the hospital at 13 and diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. — Alicia Garceau, NPR, 10 Aug. 2025 Weed also did not improve other mental health conditions such as anorexia nervosa, bipolar disorder or psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2026 One of the diagnostic criteria of anorexia nervosa is body image disturbance, the experience of perceiving oneself as larger than one actually is. — Virgie Tovar, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026 The keto diet may help individuals with anorexia nervosa, new research from UC San Diego School of Medicine suggests. — Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 4 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for anorexia nervosa

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, "nervous anorexia"

Note: The term was introduced by the British physician William Withey Gull (1816-90) in "Anorexia Nervosa (Apepsia Hysterica, Anorexia Hysterica)," "read October 4, 1873," Transactions of the Clinical Society of London, vol. 7 (1874), pp. 22-28. Gull briefly described the condition earlier as "hysteric apepsia" (apepsia meaning literally "lack of digestion"), in an address delivered to the annual meeting of the British Medical Association at Oxford in 1868, published in The Lancet, vol. 92, issue 2345 (August 8, 1868), pp. 171-76.

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anorexia nervosa was in 1873

Rhymes for anorexia nervosa

See All Rhymes for anorexia nervosa

Browse Nearby Words

anorexia
anorexia nervosa
anorexic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Anorexia nervosa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anorexia%20nervosa. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

anorexia nervosa

noun
anorexia ner·​vo·​sa -(ˌ)nər-ˈvō-sə How to pronounce anorexia nervosa (audio)
-zə
: a serious eating disorder especially of young women in their teens in which an abnormal fear of weight gain leads to faulty eating habits and extreme weight loss

Medical Definition

anorexia nervosa

noun
anorexia ner·​vo·​sa -(ˌ)nər-ˈvō-sə, -zə How to pronounce anorexia nervosa (audio)
: a serious eating disorder that is characterized especially by a pathological fear of weight gain leading to faulty eating patterns, malnutrition, and usually excessive weight loss and that occurs most commonly in young women in their teens and early twenties

More from Merriam-Webster on anorexia nervosa

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about anorexia nervosa

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All