pruritus

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/pɹuːˈɹaɪtəs/

noun

Itching; especially, severe itching of undamaged skin; caused by allergy, infection, lymphoma, etc.

OriginLatin prūrītus →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

nounpruritus (usually uncountable, plural prurituses)

plural prurituses

  1. uncountableusuallymedicineItching; especially, severe itching of undamaged skin; caused by allergy, infection, lymphoma, etc.

    2018, AbbVie, "FDA Grants AbbVie's Upadacitinib Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Atopic Dermatitis", Drug Discovery & Development Atopic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease, is characterized by skin erosion, oozing and crusting, redness, intense itching (pruritus) and dry skin.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
itchinessitchingprurigo

Origin

  1. Latinprūrītus“an itch, an itching”
  2. Englishpruritus

Borrowed from Latin prūrītus (“an itch, an itching”), from prūriō (“to itch”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish prurito
  • pruritoTranslations
Turkish kaşıntı
  • kaşıntıTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

pruritus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pruritus

MLA

“pruritus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pruritus. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pruritus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pruritus.

Source: pruritus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.