What does "menstruate" mean?

To stain with or as if with menses.

What is a synonym for "menstruate"?

Common synonyms include: be on one's period, be on the rag, come around, femstruate, flow.

How do you pronounce "menstruate"?

Pronounced //ˈmɛnstɹʊeɪt//.

Menstruate

//ˈmɛnstɹʊeɪt// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1
To stain with or as if with menses. obsolete, rare, transitive
2
undergo menstruation wordnet
3
To undergo menstruation, to have a period. intransitive
"A woman may have every quality or attribute of marriageableness who menstruates irregularly, or rarely, or even who has never menstruated at all."

Adjective

1
Menstrual. not-comparable, obsolete

Synonyms

All synonyms

be on one's period be on the rag come around femstruate flow

Example

More examples

"The U.N. says the day is meant to promote the idea that menstruation is a biological process so girls and women can menstruate without fear or shame, and without being exposed to greater vulnerability."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From menstruum + -ate (verb-forming suffix); sense 2 (“to undergo menstruation”) is possibly a back-formation from menstruation.

Etymology 2

From menstruum + -ate (adjective-forming usffix).

More for "menstruate"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.