PERSPIRATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does perspiration mean? 

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

1. salty fluid secreted by sweat glands

2. the process of the sweat glands of the skin secreting a salty fluid

  Familiarity information: PERSPIRATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PERSPIRATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Salty fluid secreted by sweat glands

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

perspiration; sudor; sweat

Context example:

sweat poured off his brow

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

secretion (a functionally specialized substance (especially one that is not a waste) released from a gland or cell)

Meronyms (substance of "perspiration"):

H2O; water (binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent)

Derivation:

perspire (excrete perspiration through the pores in the skin)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The process of the sweat glands of the skin secreting a salty fluid

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

diaphoresis; hidrosis; perspiration; sudation; sweating

Context example:

perspiration is a homeostatic process

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

activity; bodily function; bodily process; body process (an organic process that takes place in the body)

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

hyperhidrosis; hyperidrosis; polyhidrosis (excessive and profuse perspiration)

Derivation:

perspire (excrete perspiration through the pores in the skin)

 Context examples 

A disorder characterized by excessive perspiration.

(Hyperhidrosis, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

Causes include excessive perspiration, skin infections, and skin wounds.

(Folliculitis, NCI Thesaurus)

Each participant wore an activity monitor to measure heart rate, perspiration and sleep quality.

(Hot Dorm Rooms Could Affect Students' Memory, Sadie Witkowski/VOA)

His face was ashy pale, beads of perspiration shone upon his brow, and his hands shook until the hunting-crop wagged like a branch in the wind.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The Professor made a few more passes and then stopped, and I could see that his forehead was covered with great beads of perspiration.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Pertaining to or characterized by, or promoting diaphoresis; an agent that produces diaphoresis. (Diaphoresis is the act of perspiration, especially profuse perspiration).

(Diaphoretic, Food and Drug Administration)

Perspiration experienced nocturnally that is unrelated to environmental temperature.

(Night Sweats, NCI Thesaurus)

I think it was over the kitchen, because a warm greasy smell appeared to come up through the chinks in the floor, and there was a flabby perspiration on the walls.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Excessive perspiration.

(Hyperhidrosis, NCI Thesaurus)

Abnormally diminished or absent perspiration.

(Hypohidrosis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)