rheumatism

American  

[roo-muh-tiz-uhm] / ˈru məˌtɪz əm /

noun

Pathology.

• rheumatisms
  plural

1. any disorder of the extremities or back, characterized by pain and stiffness.

2. rheumatic fever.

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rheumatism British  

/ ˈruːməˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. any painful disorder of joints, muscles, or connective tissue Compare arthritis fibrositis

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rheumatisms
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of rheumatism

1595–1605; < Latin rheumatismus catarrh, rheum < Greek rheumatismós, equivalent to rheumat- (stem of rheûma; see rheum) + -ismos -ism

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Compare meaning

How does rheumatism compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• rheumatism vs. arthritis

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Explanation

Rheumatism is a medical condition of painful inflammation in muscles, joints, or connective tissue. If you volunteer to help an elderly woman with rheumatism in her hands, you might help her write, or carry her bags. Rheumatism comes from the old Greek medical word rheum, which means flux or flow, and comes from outdated medical ideas about the flow of humors causing pain or stiffness in the joints. Now, rheumatism is defined as inflammation in the joints, muscles, or tissues. If someone has rheumatism, their movement is stiff and painful.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rheumatism rheumatisms

He suffers from rheumatism and would like nothing more than to “heal” on a beach in Cuba—still the ideal of paradise for those who grew up in drab old communist Europe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

Bone is maintained via delicate balance between formation and resorption, and its imbalance leads to bone related diseases like osteoporosis rheumatism and periodontitis.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2023

“The young should really come forward because we’re afflicted by rheumatism and we have many co-morbidities,” said Taguiwalo, now 72.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2022

A year before he died, the San Francisco Chronicle found him a blind old man whose wife was crippled by rheumatism and whose 3-year-old son had never walked.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2022

If Henry had been suffering from poison ivy, hay fever, rheumatism, pinkeye, we would have been in luck but the only painkiller they had was Excedrin.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

A great many of the so-called chronic rheumatisms are really the result of dreads to use muscles in the proper way because for the moment something has happened to make their use painful.

From Health Through Will Power by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh

The bath, they told us, had wrought great cures in several disorders, such as rheumatisms, swelled and contracted joints, and scorbutic ulcers.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17 Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Robert Kerr

This fruit is good for fevers and rheumatisms; and it is much sought after by birds and all kinds of poultry, who devour it greedily.

From The Boy Hunters by Unknown

I's a member of de Mobile Delaware Baptist Church, but I can't attend very regular 'count of bein' all crippled up wid de rheumatisms.

From Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume I, Alabama Narratives by United States. Work Projects Administration

I am full of cramps & rheumatisms, and cold internally so that fire won't warm me, yet I bear all for virtues sake.

From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 5 The Letters of Charles and Mary Lamb, 1796-1820 by E. V. (Edward Verrall) Lucas

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