What does "poliomyelitis" mean?

Acute infection by the poliovirus, especially of the motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and sometimes deformity.

How do you pronounce "poliomyelitis"?

Pronounced //ˌpɒlɪəʊmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs//.

Poliomyelitis

Q: What is a synonym for "poliomyelitis"?

Common synonyms include: infantile paralysis, polio, acute anterior poliomyelitis, acute flaccid myelitis, ague, anthrax.

//ˌpɒlɪəʊmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Acute infection by the poliovirus, especially of the motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and sometimes deformity. countable, uncountable
2
an acute viral disease marked by inflammation of nerve cells of the brain stem and spinal cord wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

infantile paralysis polio acute anterior poliomyelitis acute flaccid myelitis ague anthrax

Example

More examples

"Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease which is highly contagious."

Etymology

Borrowed from German Poliomyelitis, from the Ancient Greek πολιός (poliós, “grey”) + μυελός (muelós, “marrow”) + -ῖτις (-îtis, “-itis”). Compare French poliomyélite.

Related phrases

motor neuron spinal cord

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