US Medical Term · medications
Laxative
Laxante
What it means
A laxative is a substance that promotes bowel movements, says the National Cancer Institute (NCI) dictionary. The Real Academia Española dictionary defines the matching noun, laxante, as a medicine that serves to ease the emptying of the bowels. In its page on treating constipation, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) places laxatives under over-the-counter medicines. It says a health care professional may recommend using a laxative for a short time and will tell you what type of laxative is best for you. NIDDK adds that a person who has been taking laxatives for a long time and cannot have a bowel movement without taking one should talk with a doctor about how to slowly stop using them. This page explains the word only.
Laxative in Spanish
- Spanish term
- Laxante
- Gender and article
- masculine as a noun: el laxante (plural: laxantes)
- Pronunciation
- lahk-SAHN-teh
| Other Spanish terms | Where it is used | Note |
|---|---|---|
| laxativo | General | Given by the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary as another name for laxante; the RAE dictionary lists it among the synonyms of the noun laxante. |
| purgante | General | Given by the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary as another name for laxante; the RAE dictionary lists it among the synonyms of the noun laxante. |
Laxante is both an adjective and a noun in the Real Academia Española dictionary. The adjective means que laxa, and the masculine noun is defined as a medicine that serves to ease the emptying of the bowels (medicamento que sirve para facilitar la evacuación del vientre). The noun is therefore el laxante, plural laxantes, and the dictionary derives the word from the verb laxar. The National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary defines laxante as a substance that stimulates bowel movements (evacuaciones intestinales).
Under the noun, the Real Academia Española dictionary lists laxativo, purgante, purga and evacuativo as synonyms or related words and astringente as the opposite. The NCI entry says a laxante is also called evacuativo, laxativo, purgante and purgativo. On the NIDDK's Spanish page about treating constipation, laxatives come under medicamentos de venta libre (over-the-counter medicines), and the verb for having a bowel movement is evacuar: no puede evacuar sin tomar un laxante.
Phrases for an appointment
What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:
| Who | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Patient | I have been constipated for a week. Is there a laxative I can take? | Llevo una semana con estreñimiento. ¿Hay algún laxante que pueda tomar? |
| Clinician | Have you taken any laxatives recently? | ¿Ha tomado algún laxante recientemente? |
| Patient | Yes, I bought one at the pharmacy without a prescription. | Sí, compré uno en la farmacia sin receta. |
| Clinician | How long have you been taking laxatives? | ¿Desde hace cuánto tiempo toma laxantes? |
| Patient | For several months. Now I cannot have a bowel movement without taking one. | Desde hace varios meses. Ahora no puedo evacuar sin tomar uno. |
| Clinician | I would like to talk with you about how you can slowly stop using them. | Quisiera hablar con usted sobre cómo puede dejar de usarlos lentamente. |
| Patient | Which type of laxative is best for me? | ¿Qué tipo de laxante me conviene más? |
| Clinician | Please tell me every medicine and supplement you take, including laxatives. | Por favor, dígame todos los medicamentos y suplementos que toma, incluidos los laxantes. |
In 9 languages
| Language | Term |
|---|---|
| English | Laxative |
| Spanish (Español) | Laxante |
| Chinese (中文) | 瀉藥 |
| Korean (한국어) | 완하제 |
| Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) | Thuốc nhuận tràng |
| Filipino (Tagalog) | Laxative |
| Portuguese (Português) | Laxante |
| Thai (ภาษาไทย) | ยาระบาย |
| Japanese (日本語) | 下剤 |
Where you'll see it
Related terms
Your right to an interpreter in the United States
If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.
You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»
More terms: Digestive system
All terms in this area: Digestive system — Sistema digestivo
Sources
- laxative — NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms — National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH
- laxante — Diccionario de cáncer del NCI — Instituto Nacional del Cáncer (NCI), NIH
- Treatment for Constipation — National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), NIH
- Tratamiento del estreñimiento — Instituto Nacional de la Diabetes y las Enfermedades Digestivas y Renales (NIDDK), NIH
- laxante — Diccionario de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / ASALE
- Limited English Proficiency (LEP): Your Right to Language Assistance Services — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.
Last reviewed: October 8, 2026