valetudinarian

American  

[val-i-tood-n-air-ee-uhn, -tyood-] / ˌvæl ɪˌtud nˈɛər i ən, -ˌtyud- /

noun

1. an invalid.

2. a person who is excessively concerned about their own poor health or ailments.

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adjective

1. in poor health; sickly; invalid.

2. excessively concerned about one's poor health or ailments.

3. of, relating to, or characterized by invalidism.

valetudinarian British  

/ ˌvælɪˈtjuːdɪnərɪ, ˌvælɪˌtjuːdɪˈnɛərɪən /

noun

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

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

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adjective

1. relating to, marked by, or resulting from poor health

2. being a valetudinarian

3. trying to return to a healthy state

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• valetudinarianism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of valetudinarian

First recorded in 1695–1705; valetudinary + -an

Example Sentences

Declared white-haired Valetudinarian Evers gratefully: "That leaves me with no more worries."

From Time Magazine Archive

Valetudinarian though he was, Horace maintains, in his later as in his early writings, a uniform cheerfulness.

From Horace by Martin, Theodore

When I began to grow a Valetudinarian, and that my Wounds began to heel up, I had the Liberty to drink Loraine Beer, which is much celebrated in those Parts.

From Memoirs of Major Alexander Ramkins (1718) by Defoe, Daniel

This Letter puts me in mind of an Italian Epitaph written on the Monument of a Valetudinarian; 'Stavo ben, ma per star Meglio, sto qui': Which it is impossible to translate.

From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph

The Valetudinarian is a man subject to some affliction, imaginary or real, or it may be both.

From Talkers With Illustrations by Bate, John