convalesce

[ kon-vuh-les ]
See synonyms for convalesce on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),con·va·lesced, con·va·lesc·ing.
  1. to recover health and strength after illness; make progress toward recovery of health.

Origin of convalesce

1
1475–85; <Latin convalēscere to grow fully strong, equivalent to con-con- + valēscere to grow strong (val(ēre) to be well + -escere-esce)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use convalesce in a sentence

  • Since January I have had two severe illnesses, my boy, and some heartbreaking anxiety over Fanny; and am only now convalescing.

  • He sustains at his own charges an asylum for convalescing invalids, one of the most interesting charities I have ever seen.

    Letters from Switzerland | Samuel Irenus Prime
  • He is an old friend of my husband's, who has been ill and is here convalescing.

    Mrs. Red Pepper | Grace S. Richmond
  • The convalescing boy, wound in bandages to his neck, began to laugh.

    The Awakening | Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy

British Dictionary definitions for convalesce

convalesce

/ (ˌkɒnvəˈlɛs) /


verb
  1. (intr) to recover from illness, injury, or the aftereffects of a surgical operation, esp by resting

Origin of convalesce

1
C15: from Latin convalēscere, from com- (intensive) + valēscere to grow strong, from valēre to be strong

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012