Definition

A condition where a person has trouble breathing, often feeling short of breath. It can be caused by problems with the lungs or heart.

Example

The patient experienced dyspnea after climbing the stairs.

Conversation

I heard you had some trouble with dyspnea during your run yesterday.

Yeah, it was really tough to breathe after a while.

That sounds worrying; have you seen a doctor about the dyspnea?

Not yet, but I plan to — I want to make sure it's nothing serious.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Dyspnea is formed from "dys-" (meaning difficult or bad) and "pnoia" (from Greek "pnoē", meaning breath). The word describes a condition of having difficulty in breathing.

Memory Tip

Think of 'dys-' meaning difficult and 'pnoia' relating to breath — dyspnea refers to having difficulty breathing.

Visually Confused Words