convalesce

con·va·lesce

intransitive verb \ˌkän-və-ˈles\

con·va·lescedcon·va·lesc·ing

Definition of CONVALESCE

: to recover health and strength gradually after sickness or weakness

— con·va·les·cence \-ˈle-s^ən(t)s\ noun

— con·va·les·cent \-s^ənt\ adjective or noun

Examples of CONVALESCE

1. He is convalescing from his leg injuries.
2. <the long months that the soldier spent in the hospital slowly convalescing>

Origin of CONVALESCE

Latin convalescere, from com- + valescere to grow strong, from valēre to be strong, be well — more at wield

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to CONVALESCE

Synonyms

come back, gain, heal, mend, pull round [chiefly British], rally, recoup, recover, recuperate, snap back

Related Words

come around, come round, come to, improve, pick up, revive; cheer (up), perk (up); pull through, survive; recruit

Near Antonyms

ail, collapse, come down, sicken; decline, degenerate, deteriorate, fade, fail, languish, sink, waste (away), weaken, wilt, wither, worsen; regress, relapse

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

Rhymes with CONVALESCE

ABS, acquiesce, baroness, bitter cress, CBS, coalesce, crown princess, DES, decompress, deliquesce, derepress, dispossess, due process, effervesce, effloresce, evanesce, full-court press, gentilesse, granny dress, in-process, inverness, Inverness, less and less, letterpress, luminesce, Lyonnesse, minidress, more or less, nonetheless, obsolesce, otherguess, overdress, pennycress, phosphoresce, politesse, prepossess, preprocess, recrudesce, repossess, reprocess, retrogress, second-guess, SOS, sweaterdress, underdress, watercress, window-dress, word process

con·va·lesce

intransitive verb \ˌkän-və-ˈles\   (Medical Dictionary)

con·va·lesced; con·va·lesc·ing

Medical Definition of CONVALESCE

: to recover health and strength gradually after sickness or weakness