rheumatic
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or of the nature of rheumatism.
-
affected with or subject to rheumatism.
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rheumatic
1350–1400; Middle English reumatik < Latin rheumaticus < Greek rheumatikós, equivalent to rheumat- (stem of rheûma; see rheum) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
The adjective rheumatic describes anything having to do with rheumatism, a painful disease of the joints. If your grandfather moves slowly, you could describe him as rheumatic. You could describe a doctor as "a rheumatic expert," or a patient as moving in a rheumatic way, slow and arthritic. The Latin root word is rheumaticus, "troubled with rheum," and rheum itself is a Greek word that means "flow." The word was first ascribed to the disease of rheumatism because of the way it seemed to spread — or flow — within a patient's body.
Vocabulary lists containing rheumatic
"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Turtle in Paradise
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The Secret Garden
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An event was held at the Northern Ireland Assembly on Wednesday to mark World Rheumatic Diseases Day and raise awareness of young people living with JIA.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
These findings appear online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
From Science Daily • Oct. 12, 2023
In terms of exercise, the most helpful for OA is a combination of aerobics, strength training, and flexibility exercises, says Elaine Husni, vice-chair of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases at Cleveland Clinic.
From Washington Post • Oct. 10, 2022
Rheumatic fever, a potentially deadly autoimmune inflammation of the heart and brain, is caused by a strain of the same streptococcus bacterium that we know from “strep” throat.
From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2021
“You’ve been lying out on the meshes, and they’re dreadful aguish. Rheumatic too.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
