Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Relating to or suffering from asthma: Describes a condition, symptom, or person affected by asthma, a respiratory disorder characterized by difficulty in breathing, often with a wheezing sound.
   • Characteristic of asthma: Having the qualities or symptoms associated with an asthma attack, such as labored, wheezing, or gasping breath.

2. Noun:

   • A person who has asthma: An individual who suffers from the chronic respiratory disease known as asthma.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • She has a persistent asthmatic cough that worsens at night.
  • The doctor prescribed a new asthmatic inhaler for emergency relief.
• Noun:
  • As an asthmatic, he always carries his medication with him.
  • The air pollution advisory warned asthmatics to stay indoors.

Advanced Usage

• "asthmatic breathing": Breathing that is labored, wheezy, or characteristic of an asthma attack.
  • The patient's asthmatic breathing was audible across the room.
• Used descriptively beyond the medical condition to imply something is strained, labored, or struggling.
  • The old engine gave an asthmatic wheeze before it finally started.

Variants and Related Words

• Asthma (n): The chronic respiratory disease itself.
  • Childhood asthma is common in urban areas.
• Asthmatically (adv): In a manner relating to or resembling asthma.
  • He breathed asthmatically after climbing the stairs.

Synonyms

• Wheezing (adj): Making a whistling sound while breathing, often associated with asthma.
• Breathless (adj): Gasping for breath; out of breath. (Note: This is a symptom, not a direct synonym for the noun.)

Related Phrases

• Asthma attack (n phrase): A sudden, acute episode of asthma symptoms.
  • He was hospitalized after a severe asthma attack.
• Asthma sufferer (n phrase): Another term for a person with asthma.
  • The clinic offers specialized care for asthma sufferers.

Adjective

1. relating to breathing with a whistling sound

Noun

1. a person suffering from asthma
   • she is a chronic asthmatic
   • the painful gasps of a dying asthmatic