rheumatism
Americannoun
-
rheumatisms
plural
-
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 Rheumatism comes from the old Greek medical word rheum, which means flux or flow, and comes from outdated medical ideas about the flow of humors causing pain or stiffness in the joints.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
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
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
His rheumatism must have been bothering him because he was slightly hunched over and was keeping an eye on Mr. van Daan with an agonized expression on his face.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Rickets in infancy, convulsions in childhood, or premature rheumatisms, have brought the nations of history to untimely deaths.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
I could ask old women about their rheumatisms and order half-a-crown's worth of soup for the poor.
From Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
They could then sleep in the dews, without the fear of colds or rheumatisms.
From Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States by Raphael Semmes
Perhaps we shall be able to differentiate the severer forms and recognize them from the beginning, as we have already done with regard to scarlatinal, gonorrheal, influenzal and other so-called rheumatisms.
From Psychotherapy by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
