hypochondria

noun

Definition of hypochondrianext
as in illness
unusual or excessive concern about your health; a tendency to fear or imagine that you have illnesses that you do not actually have She fueled her hypochondria by reading articles about rare diseases.

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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 hypochondria Changing the approach to identifying and treating hypochondria requires health care professionals to strike a challenging — but necessary — balance of thoroughly vetting their patients’ claims while remaining cautious of not overselling or recommending a battery of tests. — Hal Rosenbluth, STAT, 17 June 2024 Referrals to mental health professionals who treat hypochondria with cognitive behavioral therapy or medications the Food and Drug Administration has approved for treating hypochondria will create a realistic approach to addressing and validating people living with hypochondria. — Hal Rosenbluth, STAT, 17 June 2024 She’s got your backs, opening with the moment her own lifelong, free-range hypochondria probably began — when a sweet high school classmate suddenly died of Hodgkin’s disease. — Joan Frank, BostonGlobe.com, 11 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypochondria
  1. illness
  2. disease
  3. anxiety
  4. sickness
Noun
  • Additionally, millions of adults and children are still feeling the effects of their illness and have been diagnosed with long COVID.
    — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 11 Mar. 2025
  • All are broad-spectrum antibiotics used to treat many different types of bacterial illness.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of illness
Noun
  • Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder affecting the nervous system that worsens over time, according to the Mayo Clinic.
    — Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Who among us has ever searched on Google for a possible diagnosis regarding some strange symptom, only to find every possible explanation—from the simplest to the rarest disease?
    — Massimiliano Melis, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of disease
Noun
  • Extreme deficits may lead to obsessive food tracking, anxiety around eating, or disordered eating patterns.
    — Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 19 Mar. 2025
  • The series is less a procedural crime drama than a social portrait diving headfirst into the simmering cultural anxiety around boys and young men in the age of incels, male dislocation, and toxic podcasts.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of anxiety
Noun
  • Hospitals were working through the logistical challenges of preparing for an onslaught of patients with a sickness doctors barely understood.
    — Erica E. Phillips, Hartford Courant, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Exposure joined hunger and sickness to complete the task of mass killing.
    — Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of sickness

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Cite this Entry

“Hypochondria.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypochondria. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on hypochondria

Nglish: Translation of hypochondria for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hypochondria

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