Meaning & use
sinusitis
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Meaning
noununcountablemedical
An illness in which the hollow spaces behind the nose and cheeks become swollen and sore, often causing pressure, a blocked nose and headaches.
Grammar: No plural and no a: she has sinusitis, not she has a sinusitis.
Patterns
- suffer from sinusitis
- sinusitis caused by something
My sister has had sinusitis since the start of winter.
Pain around the eyes is a common sign of sinusitis.
The doctor said the cold had turned into sinusitis.
Common combinations
- acute sinusitis
- Acute sinusitis usually clears up within a few weeks.
- chronic sinusitis
- He has lived with chronic sinusitis for years.
- suffer from sinusitis
- Many people suffer from sinusitis after a bad cold.
- treat sinusitis
- Nasal sprays can help treat sinusitis.
- bout of sinusitis
- She missed work because of a bout of sinusitis.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sinus infection
- The everyday way to say it; sinusitis is the medical term and can also mean inflammation without infection.
- rhinosinusitis
- A more technical term used by specialists that stresses the nose and sinuses are both inflamed.
Word family
- sinus noun
- an air-filled space in the skull connected to the nose
- sinal adjective
- relating to a sinus, though rarely used
- sinusoidal adjective
- shaped like a wave, from a different sense of sinus
Commonly confused: sinusitis or sinuses?
sinusitis vs sinuses
Sinuses are the spaces themselves, while sinusitis is the illness that affects them.
Practice
Which sentence uses sinusitis correctly?
Choose one answer.
Sinusitis is an uncountable noun, so it takes no article and has no plural; it names an illness you have, not something you are.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sinusitis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.