chronic
Americanadjective
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continuing for a long time; constantly recurring
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(of a disease) developing slowly, or of long duration Compare acute
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inveterate; habitual
a chronic smoker
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informal
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very bad
the play was chronic
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very serious
he left her in a chronic condition
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Relating to an illness or medical condition that is characterized by long duration or frequent recurrence. Diabetes and hypertension are chronic diseases.
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Compare acute
Other Word Forms
- chronically adverb
- chronicity noun
- nonchronic adjective
- nonchronical adjective
- subchronic adjective
- subchronical adjective
- unchronic adjective
Etymology
Origin of chronic
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin chronicus, from Greek chronikós, equivalent to chrón(os) “time” + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Obesity is a complex, chronic disease with serious health consequences. These medicines are highly effective and are helping many people," Ariaee says.
From Science Daily
Their research combines caffeine with CRISPR, a powerful gene editing tool known as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, to explore new ways to treat chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
From Science Daily
The findings, which are related to a sensor in the nerve cells of the skin, might provide clues for treating chronic itch conditions.
For chronic conditions like atrial fibrillation and heart failure, care plans should reflect factors unique to women.
From Science Daily
At the same time, though, most companies have refrained from widespread layoffs given a chronic shortage of skilled workers.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
