arthritic

adjective

ar·​thrit·​ic är-ˈthri-tik 

1

: of, relating to, or affected with arthritis

arthritic hands

2

: seemingly affected with or caused by arthritis

an arthritic legal system

a story moving with arthritic slowness

arthritic noun

arthritically

är-ˈthri-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of arthritic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Compared with Lali, who has symmetrical posture and fluid movements, Nini is like an elderly, arthritic human—crooked, rigid, languid, tense. —Tao Lin, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

Similarly, Sam Farber, founder of the kitchenware company OXO, noticed that his arthritic wife struggled to use traditional kitchen tools. —David Henkin, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025

In a clinical trial, elderly people immobilized by arthritic knees, an impediment that hastens muscle wasting, experienced six-per-cent growth in their leg muscles. —Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025

His favorite dog, an arthritic 12-year-old black poodle named Jet, would hang by his side, while a menagerie of other dogs barked jealously from the kitchen. —Jason Fine, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English artetyke, arthretyke, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French artetyke, artetique, borrowed from Medieval Latin arteticus, arthreticus, going back to Latin arthrīticus, borrowed from Greek arthrītikós "of the joints, diseased in the joints," from arthrîtis "of the joints, (as a noun) gout" + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at arthritis

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing arthritic

• anti-arthritic

Rhymes for arthritic

• ascitic
• dendritic
• enclitic
• ferritic
• granitic
• graphitic
• hamitic
• nephritic
• neritic
• pleuritic
• pruritic
• pyritic

Medical Definition

arthritic

1 of 2 adjective

ar·​thrit·​ic är-ˈthrit-ik 

: of, relating to, or affected with arthritis

arthritically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

arthritic

2 of 2 noun

: a person affected with arthritis