# chronically

/ˈkɹɑnɪkəɫi/ (US) · /kɹˈɒnɪkli/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/chronically
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. lasting a long time

adverb · CEFR C1 · Technical

in a way that continues for a long time or keeps coming back, especially a health problem.

For teachers: in a persistent or long-lasting manner; frequently used in medical contexts to describe conditions that are not acute.

- He is chronically ill and needs to see a doctor every week.
- The patient was chronically fatigued, a condition that persisted despite numerous interventions and lifestyle adjustments over several years.

Usage: Often modifies adjectives related to health or negative states.

### 3. extremely

adverb · CEFR C2 · Informal · British English

to a very high degree, usually describing something very bad.

For teachers: used as an intensifier to mean 'extremely' or 'severely', typically in a negative register.

- The movie was chronically boring and we left before the end.
- The service at the restaurant was chronically slow, resulting in several customers leaving before their appetizers had even arrived.

Teaching tip: In British English, this can be used as a general intensifier for 'very bad', though it is less common than the literal medical sense.

## Examples

- The hospital is chronically short of staff.
- Many people in the city are chronically underemployed, working multiple part-time jobs just to pay their rent.
- The department has been chronically underfunded for decades, leading to a slow decay of the infrastructure that now requires a massive capital injection to repair.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.