migraine

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablemedical

   a very bad headache, often on one side of the head, that can make you feel sick and sensitive to light.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a migraine' or 'migraines'. It can also be used uncountable in medical contexts: 'suffering from migraine'.

   Patterns

   • have a migraine
   • get a migraine
   • suffer from migraines
   • a migraine attack

   She had to leave work early because she had a migraine.

   He gets migraines when he is stressed.

   The doctor asked if the pain was a normal headache or a migraine.

2. 2noununcountablemedical

   the condition of often having these severe headaches.

   Grammar: Used without 'a' or 'an' when talking about the medical condition in general: 'She suffers from migraine.'

   Patterns

   • suffer from migraine
   • chronic migraine

   He has suffered from migraine since childhood.

   Migraine can be triggered by certain foods.

   She takes medication to prevent migraine.

Word forms

Common combinations

a severe migraine

She was in bed with a severe migraine.

a migraine attack

He felt a migraine attack coming on.

suffer from migraines

Many people suffer from migraines in silence.

trigger a migraine

Bright lights can trigger a migraine.

migraine relief

She found migraine relief with a new medicine.

Synonyms and how they differ

headache

A headache is a general word for any pain in the head; a migraine is a specific, more severe type with other symptoms.

sick headache

This is an old-fashioned term for a migraine, especially one with nausea.

Word family

migrainous adjective

Relating to or affected by migraines, used in medical descriptions.

Commonly confused: migraine or headache?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “migraine”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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