# sanitarium

/sˌænɪtˈeəɹiəm/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/sanitarium
Updated: 2026-10-15

## Definition

a special hospital where people with a long illness stay for weeks or months to rest and get treatment. You see it mostly in stories about the past, when people with tuberculosis went to quiet places for fresh air.

For teachers: a residential health facility for long-term rest and treatment of chronic illness, historically associated with tuberculosis care before modern antibiotics.

## Examples

- She rests at a sanitarium in the mountains.
- After his tuberculosis diagnosis, he spends six months in a mountain sanitarium to rest and recover.
- The abandoned sanitarium on the hill still holds rows of empty sun porches where patients once took the prescribed mountain air.

## Synonyms

sanatorium

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