valetudinarian

[val-i-tood-n-air-ee-uh n, -tyood-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR valetudinarian ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an invalid.

a person who is excessively concerned about his or her poor health or ailments.

adjective

in poor health; sickly; invalid.

excessively concerned about one's poor health or ailments.

of, relating to, or characterized by invalidism.

Origin of valetudinarian

First recorded in 1695–1705; valetudinary + -an

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for valetudinarian

neurotic, valetudinary

Examples from the Web for valetudinarian

Historical Examples of valetudinarian

What is stranger still, with all this he was something of a valetudinarian.
Loss and Gain
John Henry Newman
Dr. Howe, with all his energy of body and of mind, was somewhat of a valetudinarian.
Reminiscences, 1819-1899
Julia Ward Howe.
Old, used up, valetudinarian, he only revived after a sentence of death.
History of the Commune of 1871
P. Lissagary
The Valetudinarian is a man subject to some affliction, imaginary or real, or it may be both.
Talkers
John Bate
This valetudinarian majority should make the youngest of us pause and reflect.
The Passionate Elopement
Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for valetudinarian

valetudinarian

valetudinary (ˌvælɪˈtjuːdɪnərɪ)

noun plural -narians or -naries

a person who is or believes himself to be chronically sick; invalid

a person excessively worried about the state of his health; hypochondriac

adjective

relating to, marked by, or resulting from poor health

being a valetudinarian

trying to return to a healthy state

Derived Formsvaletudinarianism, noun

Word Origin for valetudinarian

C18: from Latin valētūdō state of health, from valēre to be well

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for valetudinarian

"one who is constantly concerned with his own ailments," 1703, from valetudinary (1580s), from Latin valetudinarius, from valetudo "state of health," from valere "be strong" (see valiant) + -tudo, abstract noun suffix (see -tude). Valetudinary (adj.) "sickly" is recorded from 1580s.

valetudinarian in Medicine

valetudinarian

[văl′ĭ-tōōd′n-âr′ē-ən]

n.

A sickly or weak person, especially one who is constantly and morbidly concerned with his or her health.

adj.

Chronically ailing; sickly.

Constantly and morbidly concerned with one's health.