Word.ws English Dictionary

sternutating

sternutating is the present participle and gerund of sternutate.

Meaning of sternutate

Verb

sternutate (third-person singular simple present sternutates, present participle sternutating, simple past and past participle sternutated)

  1. (humorous, medical slang) To expel air as a reflex induced by an irritation in the nose.
    • Scientists are attempting to unpick the mystery of the “photic sneeze” – a bizarre reflex that causes people to sternutate, or sneeze, in response to bright light – and they need your help.2020 October 11, Lisa Geddes, “Calling all sneezers: scientists try to unpick mystery of 'photosneezia'”, in The Guardian
    Synonyms:
    sneeze

Questions about sternutating

What is sternutating the present participle and gerund of?
Sternutating is the present participle and gerund of sternutate.

Words near sternutating in the dictionary

  1. sternum
  2. sternums
  3. sternutate
  4. sternutated
  5. sternutates
  6. sternutating
  7. sternutation
  8. sternutations
  9. sternutative
  10. sternutatives
  11. sternutator

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sternutating (page history and authors); sternutate (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “sternutating.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sternutating. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.