Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Spurious pregnancy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun false pregnancy; the appearance of signs and symptoms associated with pregnancy when the person or animal is not pregnant

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun physiological state in which a woman exhibits symptoms of pregnancy but is not pregnant

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[pseudo– + New Latin cyēsis, pregnancy (from Greek kuēsis, from kuein, to swell; see keuə- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

pseudo- +‎ cyesis, from Latin pseudo- + Ancient Greek κύησις (kuēsis).

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Examples

  • It was determined that the patient suffered from pseudocyesis, which is the medical term for "false pregnancy."

    FOXNews.com foxnewsonline@foxnews.com 2010

  • I mean, she has an illness, something called pseudocyesis.

    CNN Transcript Oct 15, 2007 2007

  • Defense was trying to show the court that their client was a victim of mental illness being diagnosed with “pseudocyesis.”

    Woman Charged With "Womb Theft" 2007

  • The pseudocyesis, the belief in false pregnancy, certainly has come up in court, that ` s defense.

    CNN Transcript Oct 15, 2007 2007

  • We don't even know whether she was pregnant, whether she had a false pregnancy or a pseudocyesis ...

    CNN Transcript Dec 20, 2004 2004

  • In the next four years, her obsession to have a child reached a delusional quality to the point of presenting it as pseudocyesis.

    Shouldn’t I Be Happy? M.D. Shaila Misri 1985

  • In some cases of pseudocyesis, the woman is infertile and cannot conceive; or she may be having marital problems and sees pregnancy as a way to save the marriage.

    Shouldn’t I Be Happy? M.D. Shaila Misri 1985

  • Women with pseudocyesis may have “borderline” or histrionic personality disorders and display characteristics of being extremely emotional, intense, overly dramatic, and unpredictable.

    Shouldn’t I Be Happy? M.D. Shaila Misri 1985

  • Hers was one of only two cases of pseudocyesis I have seen in my years of practice.

    Shouldn’t I Be Happy? M.D. Shaila Misri 1985

  • Although pseudocyesis happens very rarely, some theories have been suggested as to its cause.

    Shouldn’t I Be Happy? M.D. Shaila Misri 1985

  • Habek Dubravko, of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the School of Medicine Sveti Duh General Hospital in Croatia, published a study of pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy, in 2010.

    When Pregnancy Is the Only Time a Woman Is Treated as Powerful Lyz Lenz 2021

Comments

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  • Interesting article here.

    June 11, 2009

  • Fascinating!

    June 11, 2009

  • I swear I posted this condition before even though I didn't know this word, but I don't have "false pregnancy" listed... *rummages through Wordie*

    June 11, 2009