valetudinarian
/ˌvæ.ləˌtuː.dɪˈnɛə.ɹi.ən/
"valetudinarian" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“valetudinarian” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sickly, infirm, of ailing health.
Corpus desk
Index EN-valetudinarian · valetudinarian · English
valetudinarian · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "V" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | valetudinarian |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌvæ.ləˌtuː.dɪˈnɛə.ɹi.ən/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “valetudinarian” in English
Rare enough to double-check
valetudinarian is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌvæ.ləˌtuː.dɪˈnɛə.ɹi.ən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for valetudinarian, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From valetudinary + -an, from Latin valētūdinārius, from valētūdō (“state of health, health, ill health”), from valeō (“to be strong or well”). By surface analysis, valetude + -in- + -arian. The correct English form is valetudinarian, spelled V-A-L-E-T-U-D-I-N-A-R-I-A-N.
Definition
- 1Sickly, infirm, of ailing health.
- 2Being overly worried about one's health.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how valetudinarian appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The virtue which the world wants is a healthful virtue, not a valetudinarian virtue.
Mr. Granard became a valetudinarian; he was always applying to some physician or another, perhaps a little to their bewilderment, for no disease was apparent: they knew not that the improvident father feared to die, for the sake of five destitute orphans.
Etymology
From valetudinary + -an, from Latin valētūdinārius, from valētūdō (“state of health, health, ill health”), from valeō (“to be strong or well”). By surface analysis, valetude + -in- + -arian.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.