as in outpatients
a person who stays for one or more nights in a hospital for medical treatment
—often used before another noun
inpatient surgery It was inpatient treatment that required a lengthy hospital stay.
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Recent Examples of inpatients
In that time, the number of people admitted to hospitals in the state as inpatients due to heat increased 60%, from 990 to 1,578.
—
Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Outpatient services at the neighboring hospital were suspended and around 3,500 inpatients were evacuated, per the Post.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
In 2023 about 88% of Weiss’ inpatients and nearly 67% of its outpatients were on Medicare or Medicaid, according to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.
—Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025
Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Outpatient services at the neighboring hospital were suspended and around 3,500 inpatients were evacuated, per the Post.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
In 2023 about 88% of Weiss’ inpatients and nearly 67% of its outpatients were on Medicare or Medicaid, according to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.
—Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inpatients
Noun
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When people were also treated with a long-acting form of an opioid-blocking medication called naltrexone, relapse rates dropped across all settings — to 59% after short-term inpatient care, 46% after long-term inpatient care and 38% for those treated as outpatients.—
Emma Fenske,
The Conversation,
12 Feb. 2026
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Xofluza is not recommended during pregnancy, while breastfeeding, for outpatients with complicated or progressive illness, severely immunosuppressed people or hospitalized patients, because of the lack of information on its use for these groups.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
26 Dec. 2025
Noun
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After five years, patients are considered cured.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
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But because of the area’s shortage of medical specialists, the New Mexico Human Services Department requested a waiver on his behalf that permitted him to resume practice and continue treating cancer patients as the only oncologist in all of Luna County, a remote rural region.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inpatients.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inpatients. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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