douche
/duːʃ
/noun
1A shower of water: I felt better for taking a daily douche...
- But this magical tale ends with a typically Chinese douche of cold water.
- To this feverish regime of irresponsibility, is it possible that he has recently administered the first bracing douche of an overdue cold bath?
- He does say though that the ‘stunts that wouldn't look amiss in a video arcade’ and he praises him for expertly applying ‘the cold douche of unreality’.
1.1A jet of liquid applied to part of the body for cleansing or medicinal purposes: the mixture may be used as an antiseptic douche or as a gargle...
- In the end, the douche circulatoire turned out to be the kind of thing the fishmonger does to a fish, without all the messy gutting and filleting.
- It is even used as a douche and topically for treating fungal infections and soothing stings.
- Hoping the heritage of the Massengill name will be strong enough to hold its own against deep-pocketed new-corners, SmithKline Beecham this spring will introduce extensions to its feminine hygiene line best known for douches.
1.2A device for washing out the vagina.The chemicals in vaginal douches may irritate your vagina and change the normal balance of good bacteria....
- Egyptian papyri describe pessaries and vaginal douches, which could have been effective.
- Irritation can be caused by douches, vaginal sprays, contraceptives, tampons and pads, soap, or detergent and fabric softeners.
2 informal, chiefly North American An obnoxious or contemptible person, typically a man: that guy is such a douche...
- I'm sorry it's so tiresome to hear me ask people not to feed these trolls or if you think it's obsessive for me to ban people who call me a douche twenty times a day, but that's tough.
- I feel like a douche for not getting her anything yet.
- Dude, you don't really have to go out of your way to make sure we understand you're a douche.
verb [with object]
1Spray or shower with water: she did not douche herself and the smell, at times, was off-putting...
- To use the rock or spray you douche the underarm and apply; it usually dries within a minute.
- With a smirk, he had given her a bottle of solution, and had, in public, forced her to douche herself with it.
- Li said that there had always been traditional wisdom and anecdotal evidence for sex selection methods, such as altering the pH level of vaginal fluids by douching the vagina with vinegar.
1.1 [no object] Use a douche as a method of contraception.Taking 20 aspirin is just plain dumb, though not as dumb as douching with Coca-Cola - this stuff can corrode metal and you wanna squirt it where?...
- But the reader is to presume here that this ad is taking place on Saturday or Sunday and that she hasn't douched in almost a week.
- Two studies of patients attending family planning clinics in Texas found the overall rates of douching to be 70 percent, with 51 percent of women douching at least once a week.
Origin
Mid 18th century (as a noun): via French from Italian doccia 'conduit pipe', from docciare 'pour by drops', based on Latin ductus 'leading' (see duct).