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.
Related Words
Relevance
as in hypochondriacal
Related Words
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 hypochondriac
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025
To position Cohn in bed next to Trump, a notorious hypochondriac, highlights their strained relationship as Trump rose and Cohn fell in New York high society.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
The play’s hypochondriac paterfamilias Argan (Mark Linn-Baker) would benefit from more attention, too, though his doctors (Arnie Burton, in a variety of wigs) only see a fool.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hypochondriac
Noun
Goosed along by Cliff Martinez’s ghostly electronic score, Soderbergh taps into our collective inner hypochondriac, making every character’s sniffle or rubbed eye bristle with potential danger.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025
To position Cohn in bed next to Trump, a notorious hypochondriac, highlights their strained relationship as Trump rose and Cohn fell in New York high society.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
Adjective
In the new film Hot Milk, the sensual but diffident 20-something Sofia (Emma Mackey) travels with her invalid mother, Rose (Fiona Shaw), to the Mediterranean shores of Spain in search of an experimental cure for the latter’s (possibly hypochondriac) illness.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
The play’s hypochondriac paterfamilias Argan (Mark Linn-Baker) would benefit from more attention, too, though his doctors (Arnie Burton, in a variety of wigs) only see a fool.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hypochondriac
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypochondriac
Noun
-
An energy vampire has bad body language, the complaining look on their face, the vocal complainer.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
-
If family needs cause drama, set kind boundaries and explain them to any complainers.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
2 Jan. 2026
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
Adjective
-
At the time, Schiller, a mom to a neurotypical child and a daughter with a rare genetic disease called Angelman syndrome, had more on her plate in the blink of an eye after her husband suffered a stroke that left him disabled.—
Liz Regalia,
Parents,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The one-time employee, 27-year-old Saturs Allison, is charged with assault and battery on a disabled person.—
Cheryl Fiandaca,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hypochondriac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypochondriac. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
