Valetudinarian

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ËŒvæ.lÉ™.ËŒtuː.dÉ™.ˈnÉ›r.i.É™n/

Origin

From Latin valētūdinārius, from valetudo ("state of health, health, ill health"), from valere ("to be strong or well") + -an

Full definition of valetudinarian

Adjective

1. sickly, infirm, of ailing healthThe valetudinarian habit of discussing his health had grown on Rose... -- Florence Anne Sellar MacCunn, Sir Walter Scott's Friends, 1910, p. 234
• MacaulayThe virtue which the world wants is a healthful virtue, not a valetudinarian virtue.
2. being overly worried about one's health

Synonyms

• hypochondriac

Noun

1. A person in poor health or sickly, especially one who is constantly obsessed with their state of healthThe most uninformed mind, with a healthy body, is happier than the wisest valetudinarian. -- Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (1904), p. 168.She affected to be spunky about her ailments and afflictions, but she was in fact an utterly self-centered valetudinarian (Louis Auchincloss) The American Heritage Dictionary

Synonyms

• hypochondriac