From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlaxativelax‧a‧tive /ˈlæksətɪv/ noun [countable] MHa medicine or something that you eat which makes your bowels empty easily —laxative adjective
Examples from the Corpus
laxative• We asked them if they had vomited or abused laxatives and asked them to record their weight on a weekly basis.• People who use senna can also become addicted to its laxative effects.• On further questioning, the young woman admitted to frequent use of laxatives.• That disgust is translated into violent purging by vomiting or laxatives.• The chemical is the active ingredient in Ex-Lax and some other laxatives.• Suggested doses of commonly used laxatives are given in reference 17.• They starved themselves and chewed gum laced with laxatives to lose weight.Origin laxative (1300-1400) Medieval Latin laxativus, from Latin laxare “to loosen”, from laxus; → LAX 