Word: dyspeptic (adjective)

Associations

The word "dyspeptic" is related to digestion and mood.

• It originally describes someone who has indigestion or stomach problems.
• It can also describe a person who is irritable, gloomy, or bad-tempered, like someone feeling discomfort inside.
• Commonly used in phrases like "dyspeptic mood" or "dyspeptic expression," meaning a grumpy or unhappy look or feeling.

Examples:

• "After eating too much, he felt dyspeptic and uncomfortable." (physical digestion problem)
• "She gave a dyspeptic reply to the question, showing her bad mood." (bad temper or grumpy feeling)
• "The old man had a dyspeptic attitude about the changes in town." (negative, irritable mood)

Synonym note:

• "Irritable" is a close synonym when talking about mood, but "dyspeptic" often suggests a deeper, more gloomy or sour mood, not just simple irritation.
• For digestion problems, "indigestion" is a more common word than "dyspeptic."

Substitution

Depending on meaning:

• For mood: irritable, grouchy, grumpy, sour, moody
• For digestion: indigestion, upset stomach, stomach discomfort

Changing the word changes the tone:

• "Irritable" is more common and simple.
• "Dyspeptic" sounds more formal or literary.

Deconstruction

• Root: from Greek "dys-" meaning "bad" or "difficult" + "pept-" from "peptein," meaning "to digest."
• Suffix: "-ic," which turns it into an adjective. So "dyspeptic" literally means "having bad digestion."

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when you or someone else felt "dyspeptic" in mood? What caused it?
• How would you describe someone who is dyspeptic because of stomach problems versus someone who is dyspeptic because they are grumpy?
• Why do you think a word for bad digestion also came to mean a bad mood? How are these connected?