Meaning & use
cirrhosis
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
A serious liver disease in which healthy tissue is replaced by scar tissue, often caused by long-term alcohol use or hepatitis.
Grammar: Uncountable: He has cirrhosis. Not 'a cirrhosis'.
Patterns
- have cirrhosis
- develop cirrhosis
- cirrhosis of the liver
- die from cirrhosis
Years of heavy drinking can lead to cirrhosis of the liver.
The doctor explained that cirrhosis makes it hard for the liver to work properly.
He was diagnosed with cirrhosis after a routine blood test.
Common combinations
- cirrhosis of the liver
- Cirrhosis of the liver is a common complication of hepatitis C.
- develop cirrhosis
- Some patients develop cirrhosis even without drinking alcohol.
- alcoholic cirrhosis
- Alcoholic cirrhosis is caused by long-term excessive drinking.
- advanced cirrhosis
- In advanced cirrhosis, a liver transplant may be needed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- liver disease
- A broader term that includes many conditions; cirrhosis is one specific type.
- hepatic fibrosis
- A related but less severe condition where scar tissue forms but liver function is less affected.
Word family
- cirrhotic adjective
- Relating to or affected by cirrhosis, as in 'cirrhotic liver'.
Commonly confused: cirrhosis or psoriasis?
cirrhosis vs psoriasis
Psoriasis is a skin condition, not a liver disease; the words sound somewhat similar.
Practice
The patient was diagnosed with ___ after many years of heavy drinking.
Choose one answer.
Cirrhosis is an uncountable noun, so it is used without 'a' and has no plural form. 'Cirrhotic' is an adjective and would need a noun after it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cirrhosis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.