Regurgitation: meaning, definitions and examples

This term is often used in a medical or scientific context to describe the process of bringing swallowed material back up into the mouth without the forceful expulsion associated with vomiting.

• The patient suffers from chronic regurgitation due to gastroesophageal reflux disease.
• Birds use regurgitation to feed their young.

Vomiting is the most common term and is generally used to describe the forceful expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth. It is used in both medical and everyday language.

• After eating spoiled food, he couldn't stop vomiting.
• Morning sickness caused her to experience frequent bouts of vomiting during her pregnancy.

Spewing has a very negative connotation and is often used to describe forcefully expelling contents with strong emotion or in a messy, uncontrolled manner. It can be used both literally for vomiting and metaphorically.

• The volcano erupted, spewing lava and ash into the air.
• He couldn't stop spewing his anger at everyone around him.

Retching describes the act of making the motions and sounds of vomiting without actually expelling anything. It is often used to describe the unpleasant sensation of dry-heaving.

• The smell was so terrible that it caused him to start retching.
• She felt nauseous and spent the morning retching but didn't actually throw up.

Medical or scientific discussions, describing the act of bringing swallowed food back up.

• The patient experienced frequent regurgitation after meals

Less common, possibly literary or poetic contexts, can have an archaic feel.

• He was so seasick that he was casting up everything he ate

Casual conversations or when discussing the act of vomiting in a less formal way.

• The child keeps bringing up his food whenever he eats too quickly

Typically used in a medical or biological situation to describe the act of bringing swallowed food back to the mouth. It can also be used metaphorically to describe repeating information without truly understanding it, often with a negative connotation.

• The bird's regurgitation of food is part of its natural feeding process.
• His essay was just a regurgitation of the lecture notes, with no original thought.

Used in both everyday and educational contexts to describe the act of repeating something. The word is neutral and can describe actions, words, or events.

• Practice involves a lot of repetition to master a new skill.
• The teacher's repetition of key points helped the students remember the material.

Used to describe the act of repeating someone else's words or ideas without understanding them. This term often implies a lack of originality and can be slightly derogatory.

• She was just parroting her parents' opinions without thinking for herself.
• Stop parroting what you hear on the news and try to come up with your own viewpoint.

Commonly used in educational and formal settings to describe the act of reciting something from memory, such as poetry or factual information.

• Her recitation of the poem brought tears to the audience's eyes.
• Students were required to perform a recitation of historical dates.