hypochondriac 1 of 2

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.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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hypochondriac

2 of 2

adjective

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
Easing the burden on our country’s emergency rooms could very well put us on the path to more effective, efficient patient care for everyone—including hypochondriacs. Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 7 June 2024 Read the full Virgo Daily Horoscope Libra (September 23 - October 22) Releasing your inner hypochondriac? USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Crampton is a hypochondriac: her preferred term, though modern medicine is trying to drum it out of the discourse. Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024 Interviews with two of Clemente’s sons as well as his late wife Vera capture a man who was loving, dedicated and just a bit eccentric — a fight almost breaks out between two talking heads over whether or not Clemente was a hypochondriac — in a purely human way. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024 See All Example Sentences for hypochondriac
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypochondriac
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
  • Who qualifies for a disabled placard or license plate in Texas?
    Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 June 2025
  • Wilcox’s attorney, Bryant Scriven, told the Orlando Sentinel his client was a disabled military veteran who is neither a violent nor a hateful person.
    Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hypochondriac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypochondriac. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

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