ALVEOLITIS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does alveolitis mean? 

• ALVEOLITIS (noun)
  The noun ALVEOLITIS has 2 senses:

1. inflammation in the socket of a tooth; sometimes occurs after a tooth is extracted and a blood clot fails to form

2. inflammation of the alveoli in the lungs caused by inhaling dust; with repeated exposure the condition may become chronic

  Familiarity information: ALVEOLITIS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALVEOLITIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Inflammation in the socket of a tooth; sometimes occurs after a tooth is extracted and a blood clot fails to form

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

alveolitis; dry socket

Hypernyms ("alveolitis" is a kind of...):

inflammation; redness; rubor (a response of body tissues to injury or irritation; characterized by pain and swelling and redness and heat)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Inflammation of the alveoli in the lungs caused by inhaling dust; with repeated exposure the condition may become chronic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("alveolitis" is a kind of...):

inflammation; redness; rubor (a response of body tissues to injury or irritation; characterized by pain and swelling and redness and heat)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "alveolitis"):

farmer's lung; thresher's lung (alveolitis caused by an allergic reaction to fungal spores in the dust that is inhaled from moldy hay)

bagascosis; bagassosis (alveolitis caused by inhaling bagasse (sugarcane dust))

 Context examples 

An inflammatory lung disease characterized by diffuse interstitial pneumonitis and alveolitis leading to interstitial fibrosis in the absence of an identifiable infectious agent.

(Idiopathic pneumonia syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)