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
In the fall, the nonprofit theatre company will stage The Imaginary Invalid, a 17th-century comedy about hypochondria, reimagined by the actor and clown, Bill Irwin, and directed by Brandon Dirden, who appeared on Broadway in this season’s Waiting For Godot.
—
Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
In fact, contrary to popular opinion, studies show that singletons are not at significantly higher risk of developing adverse personality traits like narcissism or hypochondria.
—Cynthia Hanson, Parents, 17 Feb. 2026
Jenner joined Owen Thiele on the January 9 edition of his podcast, In Your Dreams, where their conversation ranged from her first modeling jobs and growing up famous, to her hypochondria, anxiety, and beauty regimen.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 9 Jan. 2026
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
Early on, many doctors, predictably, dismissed these cases as the result of anxiety or hypochondria.
—Meghan O'Rourke, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2021
Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
In fact, contrary to popular opinion, studies show that singletons are not at significantly higher risk of developing adverse personality traits like narcissism or hypochondria.
—Cynthia Hanson, Parents, 17 Feb. 2026
Jenner joined Owen Thiele on the January 9 edition of his podcast, In Your Dreams, where their conversation ranged from her first modeling jobs and growing up famous, to her hypochondria, anxiety, and beauty regimen.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 9 Jan. 2026
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
Early on, many doctors, predictably, dismissed these cases as the result of anxiety or hypochondria.
—Meghan O'Rourke, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypochondria
Noun
-
None of the people being monitored have shown signs of illness, health officials told USA TODAY.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
-
Jeremy Sochan entered as a small-ball option, and the Knicks were already piecing together frontcourt minutes with Robinson unavailable because of illness.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Hantavirus disease is considered rare, with 890 cases reported in the United States between 1993 and 2023.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
-
In 2024, for example, more than 700 newborns died from spontaneous bleeding in their brains, which could have been complicated by liver disease or prematurity.—
Lee Hutchinson,
ArsTechnica,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
But the following year, as the pandemic wore on and crime rates ticked up, the politics of criminal justice in the city shifted toward law-and-order anxiety, even as new waves of COVID infection struck the jails.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
-
War rumbles on Putin, who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since the last day of 1999, faces a wave of anxiety in Moscow about the war in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, left swathes of Ukraine in ruins, and drained Russia’s $3 trillion economy.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
City officials did not immediately respond to a question Thursday afternoon about whether any bacterial sickness in humans had been reported.—
Caelyn Pender,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The turmoil within the Star Wars fandom, in Carano’s telling, is a microcosm of a broader sickness.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hypochondria.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypochondria. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
