Few sensations are as frightening as not being able to get enough air. Shortness of breath â known medically as dyspnea â is often described as an intense tightening in the chest, air hunger or a feeling of suffocation. Very strenuous exercise, extreme temperatures, massive obesity and high altitude all can cause shortness of breath in a healthy person. Outside of these examples, shortness of breath is likely a sign of a medical problem.
plenâ²tiÂ·fulÂ·ness n. Synonyms: plentiful, abundant, ample, copious, plenteous. These adjectives mean being fully as much as one needs or desires: a plentiful supply; the artist's abundant talent; ample space; copious provisions; a plenteous crop of wheat.
mid-14c., a plentiful flowing, an abundance, from Old French affluence, from Latin affluentia a flowing to, figuratively affluence, abundance, noun of state from affluentem (nominative affluens) flowing toward, abounding, rich, copious (see affluent).