tendinitis

noun

ten·​di·​ni·​tis ˌten-də-ˈnī-təs 

variants or tendonitis

: inflammation of a tendon typically associated with acute injury and usually accompanied by pain and swelling

Tendinitis in his right shoulder forced him to the sideline only a few plays into the game.

—Herm Weiskopf

Did you know?

Tendinitis is often seen in active, healthy people who do something that requires repeated motion, including golfers and tennis players (especially those with improper form), carpenters, and violinists. It's usually treated by keeping the joint from moving, by means of a splint, cast, or bandage. If not dealt with in time, tendinitis can turn into the more serious tendinosis, or tendon degeneration.

Examples of tendinitis in a Sentence

She was diagnosed with tendinitis of the elbow.

I have tendinitis in my knee.

Recent Examples on the Web

Rookie Jalen Royals also didn’t make the trip to South America because of knee tendinitis. —Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025

Arike Ogunbowale remains sidelined indefinitely with right knee tendinitis. —Grant Afseth, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

Royals, though, is battling knee tendinitis. —Jesse Newell, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025

Espino missed time in 2022 with tendinitis in his right knee, then had surgery for a torn shoulder tendon. —Chuck Murr, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin tendin-, tendōn-, taken as stems of Medieval Latin tendō tendon + -itis

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tendinitis

• fugacity
• intercity
• lubricity
• rhythmicity
• seismicity
• sphericity
• subcommittee
• atomicity
• catholicity
• ellipticity
• historicity
• mutuality

Medical Definition

tendinitis

noun

ten·​di·​ni·​tis

variants or tendonitis

ˌten-də-ˈnīt-əs 

: inflammation of a tendon typically associated with acute injury and usually accompanied by pain and swelling