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
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
Elizabeth Scott
chronically
adverb
She is chronically ill.
people who are chronically late
The schools are chronically short of funds.
Synonyms
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
The big picture: Student homelessness, which tracks with worsening federal homelessness trends, is nationally linked to higher rates of chronic absenteeism and drop outs.
—April Rubin, Axios, 18 Nov. 2024
With that, my team and I shifted focus from topics such as how chronic stress influences brains to how positive events – and anticipation for these events – shape neural functions.
—Kelly Lambert, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
Other health effects in chronic users have emerged, including severe cardiac problems and pulmonary disorders, especially in those vaping.
—Dr. Jerrold B. Leikin, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024
Only 463 chose to die because of a chronic condition, in a nation of 40 million.
—The Week, theweek, 10 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chronic 
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.
April Rubin, Axios, 18 Nov. 2024
With that, my team and I shifted focus from topics such as how chronic stress influences brains to how positive events – and anticipation for these events – shape neural functions.
—Kelly Lambert, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
Other health effects in chronic users have emerged, including severe cardiac problems and pulmonary disorders, especially in those vaping.
—Dr. Jerrold B. Leikin, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024
Only 463 chose to die because of a chronic condition, in a nation of 40 million.
—The Week, theweek, 10 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chronic
Dictionary Entries Near chronic
Cite this Entry
“Chronic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chronic. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chronic
adjective
chron·ic
ˈkrän-ik 
1
: continuing or occurring again and again for a long time
a chronic disease
2
: habitual sense 2
a chronic complainer
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
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
chronic
2 of 2 noun
: one that suffers from a chronic disease
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share