hypochondriac
Psychiatry.
relating to, having, or experiencing hypochondria, an excessive preoccupation with or anxiety about one's health: This biography of the poet paints him as a hypochondriac depressive.
produced by an excessive preoccupation with or anxiety about one's health: Hypochondriac feelings overwhelmed her.
exhibiting excessive worry about one's health: Her hypochondriac roommate had been convinced that their apartment was killing them with black mold.
Anatomy, Zoology. of or relating to the hypochondrium.
Psychiatry. a person experiencing or subject to hypochondria.
a person who worries or talks excessively about their health.
Origin of hypochondriac
1word story For hypochondriac
The upper abdomen, it turns out, was thought to be the seat of melancholy at a time when the now-outdated medical theory of the four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile [choler], and black bile [melancholy]) was accepted as a basis for legitimate health practice. In the 17th century, hypochondriac referred to people who suffered from “depression and melancholy without cause,” though we might suppose from the name of this malady that many depressed patients complained of abdominal pains, which otherwise went undiagnosed. “Vapors,” another archaic disorder connected to the upper abdomen, was used as a euphemism for PMS in a time when such things were not discussed in polite conversation. Because doctors were male at this time, “women’s problems” were largely written off as fits of hysteria (another obsolete medical term of Greek origin, from the word for womb ).
It wasn’t until the 19th century that hypochondriac described someone who suffered “illness without a specific cause.” This sense is still widely used.
popular references For hypochondriac
— The Hypochondriac: Molière’s last play, first performed in 1673. During the play’s fourth performance, Molière passed out on stage and died a few days later.
Other words from hypochondriac
- hy·po·chon·dri·a·cal·ly, adverb
Words Nearby hypochondriac
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hypochondriac in a sentence
AmazonNeither sitting nor standing for long periods of time are that great for your health, as your hypochondriac friend is likely fully aware.
Eleven gifts for the hypochondriac in your life | Claire Maldarelli | November 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceAmazonBlack lights—those lights that emit ultraviolet light—can quickly become a favorite tool in the hands of the right hypochondriac.
Eleven gifts for the hypochondriac in your life | Claire Maldarelli | November 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceHere’s a gift guide that all my fellow hypochondriacs will appreciate.
Eleven gifts for the hypochondriac in your life | Claire Maldarelli | November 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceAs a gadget writer, I know it’s fine, but as a hypochondriac, it hurt a little.
Apple Watch Series 6 review: Still the best smartwatch for iPhone users | Billy Cadden | June 15, 2021 | Popular-ScienceOne of the storylines of that movie has hypochondriac Woody enduring a cancer scare.
Speak, Faulty Memory: Why Memoir Writing Is Harder Than You Think | Dave Bry | April 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
He is a hypochondriac now and would keep a close watch on his heir's health and habits; you may be sure of that.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonI've met him; he's a bad-tempered hypochondriac, a cynic at heart, and a man whose word is never doubted.
In Search of the Unknown | Robert W. ChambersMany a hypochondriac had laughed immoderately at the ludicrous exercises of Crummles and the infant phenomenon!
The Broken Sword | Dennison WorthingtonHypochondriacs of any sort are a nuisance both to themselves and other people, but none more so than the spiritual hypochondriac.
Nervous Breakdowns and How to Avoid Them | Charles David MusgroveHe chiefly complained of great straitness and pain in the hypochondriac region, very short breath, swelled legs, want of appetite.
An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses | William Withering
British Dictionary definitions for hypochondriac
/ (ˌhaɪpəˈkɒndrɪˌæk) /
a person suffering from hypochondria
relating to or suffering from hypochondria
anatomy of or relating to the hypochondrium
Derived forms of hypochondriac
- hypochondriacally, adverb
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
Cultural definitions for hypochondriac
[ (heye-puh-kon-dree-ak) ]
A person who constantly believes he or she is ill or about to become ill.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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