valetudinarian

American  

[val-i-tood-n-air-ee-uhn, -tyood-] / ˌvæl ɪˌtud nˈɛər i ən, -ˌtyud- /

noun

1. an invalid.

2. a person who is excessively concerned about their own poor health or ailments.

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adjective

1. in poor health; sickly; invalid.

2. excessively concerned about one's poor health or ailments.

3. of, relating to, or characterized by invalidism.

valetudinarian British  

/ ˌvælɪˈtjuːdɪnərɪ, ˌvælɪˌtjuːdɪˈnɛərɪən /

noun

1. a person who is or believes himself to be chronically sick; invalid

2. a person excessively worried about the state of his health; hypochondriac

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adjective

1. relating to, marked by, or resulting from poor health

2. being a valetudinarian

3. trying to return to a healthy state

Other Word Forms

• valetudinarianism noun

Etymology

Origin of valetudinarian

First recorded in 1695–1705; valetudinary + -an

Example Sentences

“There’s a class-based idea that anything too valetudinarian, too conspicuously hygienic, is middle-class,” he said, using a long word for being unduly anxious about one’s health.

From New York Times

“He’s a valetudinarian as opposed to a hypochondriac, who is entirely concerned with their own health — he’s obsessively concerned with everybody else’s,” Nighy said in an interview.

From New York Times

Paranoid about his health, this classic valetudinarian is really scared of dying alone and unloved.

From Los Angeles Times

Andy from Broadstairs, potentially impressed by the heft of , writes: "What does valetudinarians mean Will? have you been at the thesaurus again?"

From BBC

When I was a child, people still spoke of the Biblical "three-score and ten" as a perfectly acceptable lifespan, and once they had retired, usually in their mid-60s, they thought of themselves as valetudinarians.

From BBC