hypochondriac 1 of 2

noun

Definition of hypochondriacnext
as in complainer
a person who is often or always worried about being ill My brother is a real hypochondriac. Every time he reads about some new disease, he thinks he has it.

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hypochondriac

2 of 2

adjective

as in hypochondriacal

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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 hypochondriac
Noun
Reviews were mixed at the time, but that deep-dive into the widening mental abyss of a hypochondriac playwright (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) has only grown in esteem over time. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025 While hypochondriacs can tell you the names of the people staffing the emergency department as easily as the names of their kids, primary care also has a meaningful frontline role to play. — Hal Rosenbluth, STAT, 17 June 2024
Adjective
When Kimberly and her family leave the New Jersey suburbs under dubious circumstances, Kimberly reevaluates her life while dealing with her hypochondriac mother, alcoholic father, scam-artist aunt, her own mortality and her first love. — Meredith G. White, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025 Reviews were mixed at the time, but that deep-dive into the widening mental abyss of a hypochondriac playwright (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) has only grown in esteem over time. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hypochondriac
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypochondriac
  1. complainer
  2. hypochondriacal
  3. disabled
Noun
  • Are they deluded into thinking that the complainers are just a squeaky wheel minority and the majority of fans are happy with it?
    — Jeremy Rutherford, New York Times, 13 July 2026
  • Instead of pushing through pain and not speaking up for fear they'll be labeled weak or a complainer, this generation is more inclined to listen to their bodies, advocate for themselves, and address the issue through the proper resources.
    — Sarah Scott, Parents, 10 June 2026
Definition of complainer
Adjective
  • Her mother, Pattie (Alli Mauzey), is ludicrously hypochondriacal, as if atoning for the chromosomal accident that produced her quick-aging child.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2021
  • Many women with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neuromuscular disease first named in 1877, were misdiagnosed as mentally unwell and dismissed as hypochondriacal well into the 20th century.
    — Elinor Cleghorn, WSJ, 12 June 2021
Definition of hypochondriacal
Adjective
  • Too many products slap the label on without including disabled people anywhere in development or testing, treating accessibility as an add-on rather than a design requirement.
    — Keely Cat-Wells, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • When scientists temporarily disabled mole-rats’ olfactory sensory neurons with chemicals, the aggression towards strangers disappeared.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026
Definition of disabled

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Hypochondriac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypochondriac. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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