chronic

adjective

chron·​ic ˈkrä-nik How to pronounce chronic (audio)
1
a
: continuing or occurring again and again for a long time
chronic pain
chronic illness
chronic experiments
see also chronic disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, chronic wasting disease
b
: being, providing, or requiring long-term medical care (as for a chronic disease)
chronic medical care
the special needs of chronic patients
2
a
: always present or encountered
especially : constantly vexing, weakening, or troubling
chronic petty warfare
chronic meddling in one another's domestic affairs … Amatzia Baram
b
: being such habitually
a chronic grumbler
chronic noun
plural chronics
Apart from the lady with the sore throat, there were four more new visits, several follow-up calls, and the endless list of chronics. Elizabeth Scott
chronically adverb
She is chronically ill.
people who are chronically late
The schools are chronically short of funds.
Choose the Right Synonym for chronic

inveterate, confirmed, chronic mean firmly established.

inveterate applies to a habit, attitude, or feeling of such long existence as to be practically ineradicable or unalterable.

an inveterate smoker

confirmed implies a growing stronger and firmer with time so as to resist change or reform.

a confirmed bachelor

chronic suggests something that is persistent or endlessly recurrent and troublesome.

a chronic complainer

Examples of chronic in a Sentence

He suffers from chronic arthritis. a chronic need for attention Inflation has become a chronic condition in the economy. Don't bother seeing that film—it's chronic.
Recent Examples on the Web But evidence for that is lacking, physicians said, and the midlife malaise for which testosterone is being touted as a solution is more likely caused by chronic medical conditions, poor diet or a sedentary lifestyle. Michael Scaturro, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2024 For Gil, who has a history of pulmonary embolisms, chronic secondhand smoke exposure could put her at greater risk of another clot. Danny Nguyen, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 Genetics and certain chronic conditions, including autoimmune disorders like vitiligo, have also been linked with early grays, Dr. Taylor adds. Cathryne Keller, SELF, 15 Mar. 2024 Kids going through puberty online are likely to experience far more social comparison, self-consciousness, public shaming, and chronic anxiety than adolescents in previous generations, which could potentially set developing brains into a habitual state of defensiveness. Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2024 The 82-year-old, who was Oscar-nominated for his role in the 1970 romance Love Story, had been diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and with prostate cancer in 2012. Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 The team treats patients for everything from chronic illnesses to ear infections. D. Parvaz, NPR, 4 Mar. 2024 For people with the most stubborn, chronic illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder, psilocybin has been proven an effective treatment in many mainstream journals. Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Mar. 2024 And a constant marinade for our work is chronic conditions—so things like social care collapsing, or very poor financial situations, austerity—and also, obviously, conflict. Rob Reddick, WIRED, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chronic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French chronique, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Late Latin chronicus, going back to Latin, "written in the form of annals," borrowed from Greek chronikós "of time, temporal, in order by time," from chrónos "time" + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at chrono-

Note: Latin chronicus was used by medical writers (as Caelius Aurelianus, ca. early 5th century a.d.) to translate Greek chrónios "occurring again and again," used by Greek medical writers, though Greek chronikós, the source of chronicus, lacks this sense.

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of chronic was in 1601

Dictionary Entries Near chronic

Cite this Entry

“Chronic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chronic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chronic

adjective
chron·​ic ˈkrän-ik How to pronounce chronic (audio)
1
: continuing or occurring again and again for a long time
a chronic disease
2
: habitual sense 2
a chronic complainer
chronically adverb
Etymology

from French chronique "chronic," from Greek chronikos "of time," from chronos "time" — related to anachronism, chronicle, synchronous

Medical Definition

chronic

1 of 2 adjective
chron·​ic ˈkrän-ik How to pronounce chronic (audio)
variants also chronical
1
a
: marked by long duration, by frequent recurrence over a long time, and often by slowly progressing seriousness : not acute
chronic indigestion
Her symptoms became chronic.
see also chronic disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy
b
: being, providing, or requiring long-term medical care (as for a chronic disease)
chronic care facilities
chronic treatment with antidiabetic medication
2
a
: having a slow progressive course of indefinite duration
chronic heart disease
chronic arthritis
chronic tuberculosis
compare acute sense 2b(1)
b
: infected with a disease-causing agent (as a virus) and remaining infectious over a long period of time but not necessarily expressing symptoms
chronic carriers of hepatitis B
chronically adverb
chronically ill patients

chronic

2 of 2 noun
: one that suffers from a chronic disease

More from Merriam-Webster on chronic

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!