rheumatism
Americannoun
-
rheumatisms
plural
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any disorder of the extremities or back, characterized by pain and stiffness.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rheumatism
1595–1605; < Latin rheumatismus catarrh, rheum < Greek rheumatismós, equivalent to rheumat- (stem of rheûma; see rheum) + -ismos -ism
Compare meaning
How does rheumatism compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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 Rheumatism comes from the old Greek medical word rheum, which means flux or flow, and comes from outdated medical ideas about the flow of humors causing pain or stiffness in the joints.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.
Vocabulary lists containing rheumatism
Of Mice and Men
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Persepolis
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Bless Me, Ultima
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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.
See Examples For:
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
Significantly, bone related diseases like osteoporosis, rheumatism and periodontitis are associated hyper activation of bone resorption by osteoclast.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2023
If inhaled, the organisms could end up in the lungs and cause a pneumonia called, variously, coccidioidomycosis or desert rheumatism or Valley fever.
From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
“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
“It aint hurt none of you and yourn, is it. Versh working and Frony married off your hands and T. P. getting big enough to take your place when rheumatism finish getting you.”
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Colds and rheumatisms, owing to bleak winds and much wet, were the chief complaints.
From Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836 Volume I. - Proceedings of the First Expedition, 1826-1830 by Robert Fitzroy
This nerve-strain interference with the purifying work of the kidneys leads to increased strain on the liver and other glands, whence result migraine, the uric acid states, rheumatisms, and the other perversions of nutrition.
From Degeneracy Its Causes, Signs and Results by Eugene S. Talbot
In that lovely Italy you rave about, you would soon shake off your horrid rheumatisms, that torment you so.
From L'Arrabiata and Other Tales by Paul Heyse
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
In fact, the commonest division is to separate the "rheumatisms" into two great groups: acute, covering the "fever" form, and chronic, containing all the others.
From Preventable Diseases by Woods Hutchinson
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.
