Meaning & use
hypersecretion
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Meaning
noununcountablemedical
The release of an abnormally large amount of a bodily substance, such as acid, mucus or a hormone, by a gland or organ.
Grammar: Usually uncountable, with of: hypersecretion of mucus.
Patterns
- hypersecretion of something
Hypersecretion of stomach acid can cause ulcers.
Doctors linked her symptoms to hypersecretion of mucus in the lungs.
Tests showed hypersecretion of growth hormone.
Common combinations
- hypersecretion of acid
- Hypersecretion of acid damaged the stomach lining.
- hypersecretion of mucus
- Hypersecretion of mucus can block the airways.
- hormone hypersecretion
- Hormone hypersecretion may be caused by a tumour.
- cause hypersecretion
- Certain tumours cause hypersecretion.
- treat hypersecretion
- The drug is used to treat hypersecretion.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overproduction
- Overproduction is a plainer word for making too much of anything, while hypersecretion is limited to substances released by glands.
- excess secretion
- Excess secretion is the everyday version of the same idea, while hypersecretion is the single technical term.
- oversecretion
- Oversecretion is a less common variant that means the same, but hypersecretion is the standard medical form.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: hypersecretion or hypersensitivity?
hypersecretion vs hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity is an exaggerated reaction to something, not an overproduction of a substance.
Practice
A doctor suspected ____ of stomach acid after the patient developed repeated ulcers.
Choose one answer.
Hypersecretion means releasing too much of a substance such as acid. Hyposecretion is the opposite, too little.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hypersecretion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.