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Valetudinarian: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Valetudinarian noun. A person who worries constantly about their own health, often imagining illness.
How to say it
val-ih-tyoo-dih-NAIR-ee-un/ˌvalɪtjuːdɪˈnɛːrɪən/
7 syllables, stressed on the fifth (NAIR).
Valetudinarian in a sentence
A lifelong valetudinarian, my uncle travels with a suitcase of pills and a thermometer.
Mr Woodhouse in Jane Austen’s Emma is fiction’s great valetudinarian, fretting over every draught.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- hypochondriac
- worrier
Where valetudinarian comes from
From Latin valetudo, state of health, from valere, to be well.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Mr Woodhouse in Jane Austen’s Emma is fiction’s great _____, fretting over every draught.
- valetudinarian
- horripilation
- collywobbles
Show the answer
valetudinarian: Mr Woodhouse in Jane Austen’s Emma is fiction’s great valetudinarian, fretting over every draught.