valetudinarian

UK/ˌvæ.ləˌtuː.dɪˈnɛə.ɹi.ən//ˌvæ.ləˌtu.dəˈnɛ.ɹi.ən/

valetudinarian adjective: sickly, infirm, of ailing health; related to ill health.

Adjective

valetudinarian (comparative more valetudinarian, superlative most valetudinarian)

Sickly, infirm, of ailing health; related to ill health.
- The virtue which the world wants is a healthful virtue, not a valetudinarian virtue.January 1841, Thomas Macaulay, “Comic Dramatists of the Restoration”, in Edinburgh Review
- Mr. Granard became a valetudinarian; he was always applying to some physician or another, perhaps a little to their bewilderment, for no disease was apparent: they knew not that the improvident father feared to die, for the sake of five destitute orphans.1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 13
Being overly worried about one's health.
- True Madam there are Valetudinarians in Reputation as well as constitution—who being conscious of their weak Part, avoid the least breath of air, and supply their want of Stamina by care and circumspection—1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, I.i

valetudinarian (plural valetudinarians)

A person in poor health or sickly, especially one who is constantly obsessed with their state of health
- The most uninformed mind, with a healthy body, is happier than the wisest valetudinarian.1787, Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Mann Randolph, July 6, 1787 in The Works of Thomas Jefferson, Paul Leicester Ford (ed.), Vol. 5, pp. 300-01 (NY: 1904)
- The evil of the actual disparity in their ages (and Mr. Woodhouse had not married early) was much increased by his constitution and habits; for having been a valetudinarian all his life, without activity of mind or body, he was a much older man in ways than in years; and though everywhere beloved...1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 1, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC

بیمار صفت, روگی

hypochondriac, invalid: ഇല്ലാരോഗഭീരു, മിഥ്യാരോഗഭയമുള്ളവൻ, രോഗഭീതി പിടിപെട്ടവൻ, രോഗപീഡിതൻ, ശയ്യാവലംബി, ശയ്യാവലംബിയായ രോഗി
hypochondriac, obsessed with one's health, weak: മിഥ്യാരോഗഭയമുള്ള, ഇല്ലാരോഗഭീരുവായ, രോഗ ഭീതിയാൽ വിഷണ്ണനായ, രോഗിയായ, ദുർബ്ബലനായ, ക്ഷീണം ബാധിച്ച

The valetudinarian habit of discussing his health had grown on Rose[…]1910, Florence Anne Sellar MacCunn, Sir Walter Scott's Friends, page 234:
Are you a mere valetudinarian, my dear Ladyship, or some prolific mendicant whose bewitched offspring she hopes I can return to human shape?1950, Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast:
She affected to be spunky about her ailments and afflictions, but she was in fact an utterly self-centered valetudinarian.1985, Louis Auchincloss, Honorable Men:

From Latin valētūdin- + -arian, from oblique stem of Latin valētūdō, from valeō + -tūdō. By surface analysis, valetude + -arian.

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

What does valetudinarian mean?: Valetudinarian means sickly, infirm, of ailing health; related to ill health.
What is valetudinarian in Urdu?: Valetudinarian in Urdu is بیمار صفت, روگی. See Valetudinarian meaning in Urdu.
How do you use valetudinarian in a sentence?: The valetudinarian habit of discussing his health had grown on Rose[…]
What part of speech is valetudinarian?: Valetudinarian can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce valetudinarian?: Valetudinarian is pronounced /ˌvæ.ləˌtuː.dɪˈnɛə.ɹi.ən/ (UK).

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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Cite this entry: “valetudinarian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/valetudinarian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.