Skip to definition.
Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps


Noun: phlegm  flem
  1. Apathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions
    - emotionlessness, impassivity, impassiveness, indifference, stolidity, unemotionality
     
  2. Expectorated matter; saliva mixed with discharges from the respiratory passages; in ancient and medieval physiology it was believed to cause sluggishness
    - sputum
     
  3. Inactivity; showing an unusual lack of energy
    "the general appearance of phlegm alarmed his friends";
    - languor, lethargy, sluggishness, flatness

Derived forms: phlegms

Type of: apathy, inactiveness, inactivity, inertia, mucous secretion, mucus

Encyclopedia: Phlegm