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.
Researchers at Semmelweis University say persistent rheumatic symptoms may be driven by more than inflammation alone.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
Appeal letters from the company related to rheumatic conditions, where it’s had the most experience so far, have about an 82% success rate, Veigulis said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2025
One of their priorities at the moment is rheumatic heart disease.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2023
She pointed to rheumatic fever, an inflammatory reaction to untreated strep throat –- especially before antibiotics were common — that scars the heart’s valves.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2023
He had rheumatic fever, chicken pox, pneumonia three or four more times, started coughing blood when he was six, was anemic, drowsy all the time, constantly sniffling, weak and miserable, and—everybody thought— dying.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
