ENGLISH
REFERENCE

chronic

adj.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈkɹɑnɪk// UK //kɹˈɒnɪk// chron·ic Informal Slang

adj. lasting for a long time or happening again and again. It is often used to describe a health problem or a difficult situation that does not go away easily.

adj. persisting for a long duration or characterized by frequent recurrence. Often used in medical contexts to describe conditions that are long-lasting as opposed to acute, or in general contexts for deep-seated problems.


SIMPLE

He suffers from chronic back pain.

CONTEXTUAL

The hospital opened a new wing specifically for patients dealing with chronic respiratory illnesses that require long-term care.

COMPLEX

The city's chronic housing shortage has led to a significant increase in rental prices, forcing many long-term residents to move to the outskirts in search of affordable living arrangements.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From chronical, from Old French cronike, from Latin chronicus, from Ancient Greek χρονικός (khronikós, “of time”), from χρόνος (khrónos, “time”). By surface analysis, chron- + -ic.

Usage

Typically precedes the noun it modifies; in medical contexts, it is the antonym of 'acute'.

Pitfall

a chronic pain of the headchronic head painChronic is an adjective and should modify the noun directly rather than being used in an 'of' phrase in this manner.

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