ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hemorrhage

n. C / U
C1 Advanced US //ˈhɛmɝɪdʒ// hem·or·rhage

n. a large amount of blood loss from a damaged blood vessel. It is a serious medical situation that happens very quickly.

n. an escape of blood from a ruptured blood vessel, especially when profuse. Often used metaphorically to describe a rapid and uncontrollable loss of resources or assets.


SIMPLE

The doctor stopped the hemorrhage in the patient's leg.

CONTEXTUAL

Emergency responders worked quickly to control the internal hemorrhage caused by the accident.

COMPLEX

The surgeon noted that while the primary hemorrhage had been contained, the risk of secondary bleeding remained high due to the patient's underlying vascular condition.

Synonyms
Origin

From Latin haemorrhagia, from Ancient Greek αἱμορραγία (haimorrhagía, “a violent bleeding”), from αἱμορραγής (haimorrhagḗs, “bleeding violently”), from αἷμα (haîma, “blood”) + -ραγία (-ragía), from ῥηγνύναι (rhēgnúnai, “to break, burst”); see ῥήγνῡμῐ (rhḗgnūmĭ) for more.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the general process of bleeding; countable when referring to a specific instance or medical event.

Pitfall

he suffered a brain hemorrhagehe suffered a brain haemorrhageWhile 'hemorrhage' is the standard American spelling, British English uses 'haemorrhage' with an extra 'a'.

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