as in illness
unusual or excessive concern about your health; a tendency to fear or imagine that you have illnesses that you do not actually have
She fueled her hypochondria by reading articles about rare diseases.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hypochondria
Illness Anxiety Disorder Colloquially, a constant concern for health is known as hypochondria.
—
Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2025
Referrals to mental health professionals who treat hypochondria with cognitive behavioral therapy or medications the Food and Drug Administration has approved for treating hypochondria will create a realistic approach to addressing and validating people living with hypochondria.
—Hal Rosenbluth, STAT, 17 June 2024
She’s got your backs, opening with the moment her own lifelong, free-range hypochondria probably began — when a sweet high school classmate suddenly died of Hodgkin’s disease.
—Joan Frank, BostonGlobe.com, 11 May 2023
Tindaro’s perfect pedigree as an eligible bachelor is undermined by his insufferable attitude, rampant hypochondria, and blunt disdain for women.
—Breanna Bell, Variety, 14 Dec. 2022
And Dostoyevsky, with the infernal reveler ejected, is relieved that second of his hemorrhoids, his gambling habit, his seizures, his fevers, his depression, his hypochondria, his appalling futuristic intuitions and obsessions.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2021
To suggest otherwise is nothing short of political hypochondria.
—Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 12 Aug. 2021
Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2025
Referrals to mental health professionals who treat hypochondria with cognitive behavioral therapy or medications the Food and Drug Administration has approved for treating hypochondria will create a realistic approach to addressing and validating people living with hypochondria.
—Hal Rosenbluth, STAT, 17 June 2024
She’s got your backs, opening with the moment her own lifelong, free-range hypochondria probably began — when a sweet high school classmate suddenly died of Hodgkin’s disease.
—Joan Frank, BostonGlobe.com, 11 May 2023
Tindaro’s perfect pedigree as an eligible bachelor is undermined by his insufferable attitude, rampant hypochondria, and blunt disdain for women.
—Breanna Bell, Variety, 14 Dec. 2022
And Dostoyevsky, with the infernal reveler ejected, is relieved that second of his hemorrhoids, his gambling habit, his seizures, his fevers, his depression, his hypochondria, his appalling futuristic intuitions and obsessions.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2021
To suggest otherwise is nothing short of political hypochondria.
—Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 12 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypochondria
Noun
-
The game began with a moment of silence for legendary Argentine coach Miguel Russo, who died on Wednesday after a long illness.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Develop a collaborative group presentation that proposes alternative language and frameworks for understanding historical illness.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The approach could open safer treatment possibilities for bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and viral brain infections.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
-
For each ticket sold, $1 will be donated to the CMT Research Foundation, which funds research to help aid in finding a cure for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The nation’s third shutdown in 12 years has again raised anxiety levels among service members and their families as those in uniform are working without pay.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
-
In the book, she's portrayed as someone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and on anxiety medication, both of which are used to discredit her and paint her as unwell.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Her infirmity, Lurie says, began in July, 1953, but tremors of premonition course through her work from first to last, as though sickness were naturally expected to arrive, like a punctual guest.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
-
And virtually all women east of the Appalachians experienced the violence, sickness, and scarcity of a civil war in which front lines and home fronts were never far apart.—
Jane Kamensky,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hypochondria.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypochondria. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share