convalescent
AmericanOther Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of convalescent
1650–60; < Latin convalēscent- (stem of convalēscēns ), present participle of convalēscere to convalesce; see -ent
Explanation
A person who's recovering from an illness is a convalescent. As a convalescent recovering from surgery, your grandmother would probably love some company to cheer her and help pass the time. Convalescent, as an adjective, can describe the period of recovery or anything related to the process of returning to health, like a convalescent program of physical therapy or a convalescent ward at a hospital. As a noun, a convalescent is a person who is recovering from being sick. The origin of convalescent is the Latin root valescere, which means "to begin to grow strong."
Vocabulary lists containing convalescent
Night
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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.
Born in Helsinki, Schjerfbeck permanently injured her hip in a childhood fall and apparently began to draw as a convalescent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 3, 2026
Perhaps the most pitiful image was of elderly residents being evacuated from a convalescent home in the city of Altadena, where the Eaton fire currently spans more than 2,000 acres.
From BBC • Jan. 8, 2025
Sindle remembers liking that Cox had a job at the local convalescent hospital and a Chevy Monte Carlo, which he often slept in, parking it at a nearby church.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2024
She bounced around, from LA’s notorious Skid Row to various convalescent homes while her daughter lived at a shelter.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 20, 2023
“Unless you find something else I’m afraid you will have to go back to the front when you are through with your jaundice. I don’t believe self-inflicted jaundice entitles you to a convalescent leave.”
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
