Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Confined to bed (by illness): Describes a person who is forced to stay in bed due to sickness or ill health.

Usage

• The adjective "sick-abed" is used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like "be") to describe someone who is ill and must remain in bed.
• It is a somewhat old-fashioned or literary compound word.

Examples

• Adjective (Attributive):

  • The nurse visited her sick-abed patient every morning.
  • He sent flowers to his sick-abed friend.

• Adjective (Predicative):

  • With a high fever, she was sick-abed for a week.
  • The doctor advised him to stay sick-abed until the infection cleared.

Advanced Usage

• The term can imply a prolonged or serious state of illness that necessitates bed rest.
• It is often used in narratives or descriptive writing to quickly establish a character's condition.

Variants and Related Words

• Bedridden (adj): Confined to bed for a long period due to sickness or disability. This is a more common synonym.
• Housebound (adj): Unable to leave one's house, typically due to illness or disability (a broader condition that may include being sick-abed).

Synonyms

• Bedridden
• Laid up (informal)
• Confined to bed
• Invalided

Antonyms

• Ambulatory: Able to walk about; not confined to bed.
• Up and about: Out of bed and active again after an illness.

Adjective

1. confined to bed (by illness)