as in numbness
a lack of emotion or emotional expressiveness
a man of remarkable phlegm, never showing enthusiasm nor displeasure
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of phlegm
Those sacs of air fill with fluid or pus, causing a cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills and trouble breathing, according to the clinic.
—
Rebecca Cohen,
NBC news,
16 Oct. 2025
The second is having either 10 or more pack years of smoking, or symptoms of cough, phlegm and trouble breathing.
—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
28 Aug. 2025
Diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease is made via chest X-ray, urine test and lab analysis of a phlegm sample.
—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
20 Aug. 2025
The way the seasons withered crops or provoked tree sap to flow might manifest in the body as yellow bile surging in the summer, and cold, wet phlegm dripping in the winter.
—
Meg Leja,
The Conversation,
2 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for phlegm
Rebecca Cohen,
NBC news,
16 Oct. 2025
The second is having either 10 or more pack years of smoking, or symptoms of cough, phlegm and trouble breathing.
—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
28 Aug. 2025
Diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease is made via chest X-ray, urine test and lab analysis of a phlegm sample.
—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
20 Aug. 2025
The way the seasons withered crops or provoked tree sap to flow might manifest in the body as yellow bile surging in the summer, and cold, wet phlegm dripping in the winter.
—
Meg Leja,
The Conversation,
2 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for phlegm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phlegm
Noun
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Over time, some people even begin experiencing side effects, emotional numbness or a feeling that the medication is no longer helping in the same way.
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Webb, the Oklahoma radiologist, documented four times that a patient lacked numbness, and yet his WISeR application was still denied, citing numbness, which, in the reviewer's interpretation, would rule out the spinal surgery procedure.
Noun
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He was used to being alone without Robin and postretirement but being alone in the interminable stretch of predawn hours was a different sort of emptiness.
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Work gives you somewhere to point your attention, somewhere to put the grief, the sadness, the emptiness.
Noun
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The world of Pride and Prejudice expects women to accommodate male pride as a social fact, to smooth over awkwardness, to accept that status and wealth compensate for coldness or indifference.
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Her fierce intelligence helps paper over some of the screenplay’s rougher transitions, and even lends a measure of legibility to Sylvia’s sudden coldness.
Noun
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In the lead-up to this summer’s FIFA men’s World Cup, critics complained about prices, domestic politics, international geopolitics, supposed fan apathy, logistical hurdles and more.
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Does this show reveal more to me how the most vulnerable amongst us are suffering as a result of disinterest, apathy, greed?
Cite this Entry
“Phlegm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phlegm. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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