Munchausen syndrome

[ muhn-chou-zuhn sin-drohm, muhnch-hou-zuhn ]

noun

, Psychiatry.

1. a factitious disorder in which otherwise healthy individuals seek to hospitalize themselves with feigned or self-induced pathology in order to receive surgical or other medical treatment.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Munchausen syndrome¹

1950–55; named after Baron von Münchhausen ( def ), whose fictionalized accounts of his own experiences suggest symptoms of the disorder

Example Sentences

People who intentionally hurt children for attention can be accused of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

From The Daily Beast