Meaning & use
hypermobility
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Meanings
noununcountablemedical
A condition in which a person's joints can move well beyond the usual range.
Grammar: No article or plural: she has hypermobility.
Patterns
- have hypermobility
- hypermobility in the knees
Her hypermobility lets her bend her fingers back easily.
Some dancers have natural hypermobility, which helps with flexibility.
The doctor tested for hypermobility after repeated sprains.
noununcountablerare
Unusually high movement or mobility, in a general sense.
Grammar: A rarer general use: the hypermobility of capital.
Patterns
- hypermobility of something
Economists discuss the hypermobility of workers across borders.
The hypermobility of modern life can leave people without roots.
Common combinations
- joint hypermobility
- Joint hypermobility often runs in families.
- hypermobility syndrome
- She was diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome.
- suffer from hypermobility
- He suffers from hypermobility in his elbows.
- hypermobility and pain
- Hypermobility and pain can occur together.
Synonyms and how they differ
- double-jointedness
- Double-jointedness is the everyday term, though it wrongly suggests extra joints.
- flexibility
- Flexibility is a normal healthy range of motion, while hypermobility is beyond normal.
- laxity
- Laxity refers to loose ligaments, the cause rather than the result.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: hypermobility or hypomobility?
hypermobility vs hypomobility
Hypomobility is the opposite and means joints that move too little.
Practice
A person with hypermobility is likely to have joints that ___.
Choose one answer.
Hypermobility means joints stretch beyond the normal range. The other options either describe stiffness or are false.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hypermobility”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.