Meaning & use
-pnea
Last updated
a suffix meaning 'breathing,' used to form medical terms describing patterns or conditions of breathing.
See it in a sentence
A person who briefly stops breathing during sleep is diagnosed with apnea.
Doctors use the term tachypnea to describe abnormally rapid breathing.
A note on using this word
Always attached to a root, as in apnea (no breathing), dyspnea (difficult breathing), and tachypnea (fast breathing); it is not used as a standalone word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “-pnea”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.