English Reference

Word

mellitus

Phoneticsmel·li·tus

/ˈmɛɫɪtəs/

Definition

n. a medical name for diabetes. It is a Latin word that means 'sweet' and is used in the full name of the disease.

n. a Latin term meaning 'sweet', used in the medical nomenclature of diabetes. It appears in the full name of the condition, diabetes mellitus, to distinguish it from diabetes insipidus.

Examples

“The doctor explained that diabetes mellitus is a common health condition.”

“In medical literature, the term diabetes mellitus is used to describe the metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar levels.”

“While the term diabetes mellitus is widely recognized in clinical settings, it is often simplified to diabetes in everyday conversation to avoid the technical complexity of the Latin suffix.”

Examples

simple

“The doctor explained that diabetes mellitus is a common health condition.”

contextual

“In medical literature, the term diabetes mellitus is used to describe the metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar levels.”

complex

“While the term diabetes mellitus is widely recognized in clinical settings, it is often simplified to diabetes in everyday conversation to avoid the technical complexity of the Latin suffix.”

Real-World Examples

“Tirzepatide (generic name of the drug Mounjaro) is approved for weight management in adults with obesity or overweight with comorbidities, as well as for treating poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus.”
ScienceDaily · 26 Sept 2026

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/mellitus

English Reference