Premenstrual means happening in, or about, the days just before a woman’s period — the time each month when blood flows from the uterus. It is a medical and everyday health word, not rude, and not slang. You will hear premenstrual symptoms: sore breasts, a swollen belly, headaches, feeling tense, sad, or easily angry. The well-known bundle is premenstrual syndrome, often shortened to PMS. It describes the lead-up, not the bleeding days themselves. Though actually, bodies differ a lot: some people barely notice those days, and some feel them strongly. The word is about timing (before the period), not about whether the feelings are “all in the mind.”