marasmic

The marasmic child sits weakly on a wooden stool while a doctor examines his thin arms.

Definition

Adjective: Relating to or characterized by marasmus; describing a state of severe wasting or emaciation, typically due to malnutrition or chronic disease.

Usage Examples

• (Describing a child suffering from severe wasting.)
• (Referring to the state of extreme emaciation.)
• (The physical state of being severely undernourished.)

Advanced Usage

• "Marasmic kwashiorkor": A severe form of protein-energy malnutrition combining features of marasmus and kwashiorkor, characterized by wasting and edema.
  • The clinician diagnosed the infant with marasmic kwashiorkor due to both wasting and swelling. (A specific medical condition.)

Variants and Related Words

• Marasmus (noun): the medical condition of severe wasting, especially in infants and young children, caused by insufficient caloric intake.

  • Marasmus is a leading cause of death in impoverished regions. (The underlying disease state.)

• Marasmic (adj, alternative form): sometimes used interchangeably, though less common.

  • The marasmic state was reversed with proper feeding. (Same meaning as the primary adjective.)

Synonyms

• Emaciated: abnormally thin or wasted, especially from illness or lack of food.
  • The emaciated patient required a feeding tube. (Similar to marasmic but more general.)
• Wasted: reduced in strength or substance; physically weakened.
  • The wasted limbs were a sign of chronic starvation. (Describing the physical effect.)

Related Idioms

• "Wasting away": a phrase describing the process of becoming marasmic.
  • Without treatment, the elderly man was wasting away. (Gradual loss of body mass and strength.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Waste away: to gradually become thinner, weaker, or less healthy.
  • The prisoner wasted away from months of inadequate food. (The process leading to a marasmic state.)