sanatorium
Americannoun
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a hospital for the treatment of chronic diseases, as tuberculosis or various nervous or mental disorders.
noun
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an institution for the medical care and recuperation of persons who are chronically ill
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a health resort
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a room in a boarding school where sick pupils may be treated in isolation
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sanatorium
1830–40; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin sanā ( re ) to heal + -tōrium -tory 2
Explanation
A sanatorium is a place to go when you're suffering or recuperating from a long illness. It was once common for tuberculosis patients to be treated at a sanatorium. In some parts of the world, including Russia and the Czech Republic, a sanatorium is more of a health spa, with the added benefit of available medical treatments. While there are very few sanatoriums left in North America, they were once the preferred location for chronically ill patients, especially before antibiotics for treating tuberculosis were developed in the mid-20th century. The Latin sanus, "well, healthy, or sane," is the root of sanatorium.
Vocabulary lists containing sanatorium
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:
She shared how Martin was without parents from a young age and was "sent alone to a sanatorium in London for two years" after being diagnosed with tuberculosis.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
This take on Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet,” set in a sanatorium with teenagers climbing the walls, has Bourne’s signature clever movement, which can be delightful, and tons of talent onstage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2024
The relentless 10-month war has prompted a local commander to transform a Soviet-era sanatorium into a recovery center for servicemen to treat both mental and physical ailments.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2023
She has lived in the town for 33 years, working in a sanatorium.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2022
The color scheme of the whole sanatorium seemed to be based on liver.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
The old sanatoria in the Alps to which European TB patients lucky enough to have wealthy relatives might be sent focused on cleanliness, fresh air and sunlight, ample nutritious food and rest.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
Crawford estimates that in 1925 alone the couple spent a third of their income on doctors, medicines, and stays in hospitals or sanatoria.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 28, 2022
The plaintiff in the case is John Pambrun, 77, a First Nations man who spent nearly six years of his childhood in Indian hospitals and sanatoria.
From The Guardian ● May 11, 2018
Rehab centers have the feel of pre-modern sanatoria.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2016
We know more of Greece than of other countries; there the shrines of AEsculapius were in many ways what we now call sanatoria.
From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
The southern town of Yalta was the prime holiday destination during Soviet times, with many sanatoriums built in and around it.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 31, 2023
Located in the Carpathian foothills, Morshyn's economy is dependent on tourists visiting its hotels and sanatoriums and was hit badly by the first wave of lockdowns last year, Mayor Ruslan Ilnytsky told Reuters.
From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 2021
Like tuberculosis sanatoriums, the clean, smooth surfaces of the architecture of this era offered an anesthetic to disease and trauma.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2020
A whole system of Christian Science “nursing” sprang up in unlicensed Christian Science sanatoriums and nursing homes catering to patients with open wounds and bodies eaten away by tumours.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 6, 2019
There are, of course, large hospitals and sanatoriums for consumption; and the admirable system of national insurance secures help in sickness to every working man and woman, as well as a pension in old age.
From Home Life in Germany by Sidgwick, Alfred, Mrs.
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.
