chronic

/'krɔnik/

Thân thiện

A patient manages chronic pain with gentle morning stretches.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Long-lasting and persistent: Describes a condition, situation, or habit that continues for a long time or keeps recurring.
   • Constant and severe: Used to emphasize that something is very bad or unpleasant.

Usage

• Describing long-term medical conditions: Used for illnesses or pain that persist over a long period.
• Describing persistent problems: Used for difficulties, shortages, or situations that are continual.
• Describing ingrained habits: Used for behaviors that are habitual and difficult to change.
• (Informal) Describing something very bad: Used colloquially to describe an unpleasant situation or thing.

Examples

• Medical/Health Context:
  • He suffers from chronic back pain.
  • Asthma is often a chronic condition.
• Persistent Problems:
  • The region faces a chronic water shortage.
  • Chronic unemployment plagued the town for years.
• Ingrained Habits:
  • She is a chronic worrier.
  • His chronic lateness annoyed his colleagues.
• (Informal):
  • The weather this summer has been chronic.
  • That movie was chronic; I wish I hadn't watched it.

Advanced Usage

• "To be/get chronic": To become a persistent, habitual, or severe problem.
  • The traffic congestion in the city center is getting chronic.
• Chronic + Noun Combinations: Often forms fixed phrases describing persistent issues.
  • chronic fatigue (a state of long-term and severe tiredness)
  • chronic stress (long-term, unrelenting stress)

Variants and Related Words

• Chronically (adverb): In a persistent and long-lasting manner.
  • The service is chronically underfunded.
• Chronicity (noun): The state of being chronic.
  • The chronicity of the disease makes it hard to treat.

Synonyms

• Persistent: Continuing firmly or obstinately.
• Incessant: Continuing without pause or interruption.
• Inveterate: Having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change.
• Deep-rooted / Deep-seated: Firmly established and difficult to change.

Antonyms

• Acute: (Of a bad, difficult, or unwelcome situation) appearing suddenly and severely; (in medicine) of short duration but typically severe.
• Temporary: Lasting for only a limited period; not permanent.
• Intermittent: Occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• A chronic complainer: Someone who habitually complains.
  • Don't be such a chronic complainer; try to see the positive side.
• Chronic state of affairs: A situation that has been bad for a very long time.
  • The political deadlock has become a chronic state of affairs.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. habitual
   • a chronic smoker
2. of long duration
   • chronic money problems
3. being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
   • chronic indigestion
   • a chronic shortage of funds
   • a chronic invalid

Từ đồng nghĩa

• inveterate
• continuing