Definition

Adjective: 1. Affected by or suffering from rickets: Describes a person, animal, or their physical state that has the disease rickets, which is caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate, leading to soft and weakened bones. 2. Characteristic of or resembling rickets: Describes physical features, typically bone deformities, that are typical of or similar to those caused by rickets.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The rachitic child was prescribed vitamin D supplements and sunlight exposure.
  • X-rays revealed the dog's rachitic bones, which were bowed and fragile.
  • He walked with a rachitic gait, a consequence of the childhood disease.

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in medical, clinical, or historical contexts. In modern general English, rickety is more commonly used to describe something weak or unstable, though it shares the same root.
• It can be used figuratively in literary contexts to describe something that is fundamentally weak, unsound, or deformed, though this is rare.
  • The theory was built on a rachitic foundation of assumptions.

Variants and Related Words

• Rickets (noun): The disease itself, characterized by soft, weak, and deformed bones in children.
• Ricketiness (noun): The state or condition of being rachitic or rickety.

Synonyms

• Rickety (when referring to bone deformity or weakness)
• Osteomalacic (specifically for the adult form of the disease, osteomalacia)

Antonyms

• Healthy
• Strong
• Sturdy

Adjective

1. affected with, suffering from, or characteristic of rickets
   • rickety limbs and joints
   • a rachitic patient