ENGLISH
REFERENCE

venous

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈvinəs// UK //vˈɛnəs// ve·nous

adj. relating to veins, which are the blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart.

adj. relating to or characteristic of veins. Often used in medical contexts to describe the flow of blood or the structure of the circulatory system.


SIMPLE

The doctor checked the venous flow in my legs.

CONTEXTUAL

The patient's venous system was examined to ensure there were no blockages causing the swelling.

COMPLEX

In the circulatory system, venous blood is typically deoxygenated and returns to the heart at a lower pressure than arterial blood.

Origin

Morphologically vein + -ous, which is a borrowing from Latin vēnōsus (“full of veins, veiny”), from vēna (“a blood vessel, vein”) + -ōsus (“-ous, -ose”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of venose.

© 2026 English Reference