regurgitated

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive or intransitivetechnical

   brought food back up from the stomach into the mouth, especially in animals.

   Grammar: Can be used with an object ('regurgitated the fish') or without one ('the bird regurgitated').

   Patterns

   • regurgitate something
   • regurgitate food for someone

   The mother bird regurgitated food for her chicks.

   Some snakes can regurgitate a whole meal if they feel threatened.

   The patient regurgitated most of what he had eaten.

2. 2verbtransitivedisapproving

   repeated information or ideas without understanding or thinking about them.

   Grammar: Takes an object: 'regurgitate facts'. Often used disapprovingly about teaching or exams.

   Patterns

   • regurgitate facts
   • regurgitate information
   • regurgitate what someone said

   Students should be taught to think, not just to regurgitate facts.

   He simply regurgitated the same arguments he had heard on television.

   The essay felt like a list of ideas regurgitated from the textbook.

Common combinations

regurgitate food

The adult penguin regurgitates food for its chick.

regurgitate facts

Good exams test understanding, not the ability to regurgitate facts.

regurgitate information

She was tired of hearing him regurgitate information from the internet.

Synonyms and how they differ

vomit

Vomit is the ordinary medical word for bringing up stomach contents; regurgitate is more technical and also used for animals.

repeat

Repeat simply means saying or doing something again; regurgitate adds the idea of doing it without understanding.

Word family

regurgitation noun

The act of bringing food back up or repeating information without thought.

Commonly confused: regurgitated or regulate?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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