Meaning & use
Valetudinarian
Last updated
A person who is excessively concerned or anxious about their own health, often imagining or exaggerating illness.
See it in a sentence
His uncle was a lifelong valetudinarian, forever complaining of some new ailment.
The novel satirizes a valetudinarian who refuses to leave his room for fear of drafts.
A note on using this word
From Latin "valetudo" (state of health), the word was common in 18th- and 19th-century literature to mock characters obsessed with their own frailty.
Words with a similar meaning
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Another way to use it
2. adjective
of or relating to poor health or invalidism.
He kept to a valetudinarian routine, resting for hours each afternoon.
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