Meaning & use
regurgitates
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“regurgitates” is a form of “regurgitate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivetechnicalmedical
Brings swallowed food back up from the stomach into the mouth.
Grammar: Can take an object ('regurgitates food') or stand alone ('the bird regurgitates to feed its young').
Patterns
- regurgitate something
- regurgitate food for someone
Some birds regurgitate food to feed their chicks.
The patient regurgitates small amounts of milk after every feeding.
Cows regurgitate grass and chew it again as cud.
verbtransitivedisapproving
Repeats information or ideas without understanding or thinking about them.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually facts, opinions, or a text: 'regurgitates the textbook'.
Patterns
- regurgitate facts
- regurgitate information
- regurgitate what someone said
Students who only regurgitate facts rarely do well in interviews.
He regurgitates whatever he reads online without checking it.
The essay simply regurgitates the teacher's lecture notes.
verbtransitive or intransitivetechnical
(Of a liquid or substance) flows or is pushed back out in the opposite direction.
Grammar: Often used of engines, pipes, or machinery pushing something back out.
Patterns
- regurgitate something
- something regurgitates
The blocked pipe regurgitated dirty water into the street.
The engine regurgitated smoke and then stopped completely.
Word forms
| base form | regurgitate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | regurgitates |
| past tense | regurgitated |
| past participle | regurgitated |
| -ing form | regurgitating |
Common combinations
- regurgitate food
- The mother bird regurgitates food for her chicks.
- regurgitate facts
- Exams should test thinking, not the ability to regurgitate facts.
- regurgitate information
- The report just regurgitates information from older studies.
- regurgitate a meal
- Babies often regurgitate a meal soon after feeding.
- regurgitate what one has read
- He regurgitates what he has read in a flat, robotic voice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vomit
- Much stronger and more unpleasant; it describes being sick, while 'regurgitate' can be a normal process in animals and babies.
- repeat
- Neutral and general; 'regurgitate' adds the idea of doing it without thought or understanding.
- parrot
- Informal and critical; it suggests copying someone's words exactly, like a parrot, rather than the physical sense.
Opposites
Word family
- regurgitation noun
- The act of bringing food back up, or of repeating something without thought.
- regurgitative adjective
- Rare; describing something that regurgitates or repeats mechanically.
Commonly confused: regurgitates or regurgitate vs. vomit? regurgitates or regurgitate vs. reiterate?
regurgitates vs regurgitate vs. vomit
'Vomit' means to throw up because you are ill, and it sounds forceful; 'regurgitate' is often a calm, technical word for food coming back up, as in babies or birds.
regurgitates vs regurgitate vs. reiterate
'Reiterate' means to say something again to make it clear, which is not negative; 'regurgitate' is disapproving and means repeating without understanding.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'regurgitates' in the disapproving sense.
Choose one answer.
Only the student example shows repeating information without understanding, which is the disapproving sense. The baby and owl examples are the physical sense, and the pump example is the flow sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “regurgitates”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.