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hypochondriac

 
Dictionary: hy·po·chon·dri·ac   ('pə-kŏn'drē-ăk') pronunciation
n.
A person affected with hypochondria.

adj.
  1. Relating to or affected with hypochondria.
  2. Anatomy. Relating to or located in the hypochondrium.
hypochondriacal hy'po·chon·dri'a·cal (-kŏn-drī'ə-kəl) adj.
hypochondriacally hy'po·chon·dri'a·cal·ly adv.

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Wordsmith Words: hypochondriac
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(hie-puh-KON-dree-ak)

noun
A person affected with hypochondria, the persistent neurotic conviction that one is or is likely to become ill, often involving experiences of real pain when illness is neither present nor likely.

adjective
1. Relating to or affected with hypochondria.
2. Relating to or located in the hypochondrium.

Etymology
Late Latin, abdomen, from Greek hupokhondria, pl. of hupokhondrion, abdomen (held to be the seat of melancholy), neuter of hupokhondrios, under the cartilage of the breastbone : hupo-, hypo- + khondros, cartilage.

Usage
"We call ourselves highly susceptible. Others call us hypochondriacs, problem patients, thick files, GOMERs (Get Out of My Emergency Room!), ...." — Israel, Betsy, Disease du jour, Harper's Bazaar, Mar 1, 1994.


Health Dictionary: hypochondriac
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(heye-puh-kon-dree-ak)

A person who constantly believes he or she is ill or about to become ill.

Word Tutor: hypochondriac
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A person who has a false belief that he or she has a disease or abnormal condition.

pronunciation So you say you're a hypochondriac. How do you know you just don't think you're a hypochondriac?

 
 

 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Health Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
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