bulimy

A person with bulimy is reading a book in a quiet library.

Definition

1. Noun (Medicine):
   • Bulimy (also spelled bulimia) is a medical condition characterized by an insatiable or excessive appetite, often leading to uncontrolled eating or overindulgence in food. In historical usage, it refers specifically to a pathological craving for food.

Usage Examples

• (A medical condition involving excessive hunger and eating.)
• (A historical medical term for extreme hunger.)

Advanced Usage

• "bulimy of the mind" (figurative): An intense or obsessive craving for non-physical substances, such as knowledge or books.
  • He had a bulimy for reading, devouring entire libraries in a single year. (A figurative use meaning an insatiable desire for reading.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bulimia (n): The more common modern spelling of , often referring to the eating disorder bulimia nervosa.
  • Bulimia nervosa involves cycles of binge eating followed by purging. (A specific psychiatric condition.)
• Bulimic (adj): Relating to or suffering from bulimy or bulimia.
  • The bulimic patient required dietary supervision. (Adjective form describing a person or symptom.)

Synonyms

• Insatiable appetite: An unquenchable desire for food.
• Polyphagia: A medical term for excessive hunger or eating.
• Gluttony: Overindulgence in food, often with moral or behavioral connotations.

Related Idioms

• Wolf down: To eat greedily and rapidly, similar to the behavior in bulimy.
  • He wolfed down his meal, as if suffering from bulimy. (To eat quickly and hungrily.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Gorge on: To eat an excessive amount of something.
  • She would gorge on sweets, a symptom of her bulimy. (To overindulge in food.)