terminal illness

Sometimes life-lim·it·ing ill·ness

[tur-muh-nl il-nis]

noun

1. a disease or condition that cannot be cured and will almost certainly lead to death.

Word History and Origins

Origin of terminal illness¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Montana’s expanded “Right to Try” law in 2023 allowed any patient to access an experimental treatment, not just those with a terminal illness.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But now he's curating a uniquely personal playlist - the songs of his own life to carry him through terminal illness.

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Winston has also been diagnosed with a terminal illness and medical insurance won’t cover it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Within this stunningly simple piece that artfully weaves together her modern-day reaction to Sinéad’s passing to her father’s terminal illness to her picking up the pieces of her own life, she talks about how the song was nominated for three Grammys and that O’Connor refused to appear on the program, instead issuing an open letter to the music industry outlining her objections.

Read more on Salon

“In cases of terminal illness or natural decline, death isn’t something we’re initiating — it’s already in motion,” Cox wrote in an email.

Read more on Los Angeles Times