chronic

«chronic» in Mova's school dictionary: A chronic illness or problem lasts a long time or keeps… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (chronic)

meaning for a pupil

1) A chronic illness or problem lasts a long time or keeps coming back. tree →

2) A chronic habit is one a person has had for a long time and cannot stop: «a chronic liar». tree →

3) (UK, informal) Very bad: «The film was chronic». tree →

sense in the lessons

In health and science lessons «chronic» illnesses like asthma or diabetes are long-lasting, opposite to «acute» ones that come suddenly and pass. In news, «chronic shortages» are problems that never go away. In British slang, «chronic» means awful. Phrases: «chronic pain», «chronic illness», «a chronic shortage», «chronically ill».

examples

• Grandad has chronic back pain. tree →
• Asthma is a chronic illness, but medicine helps. tree →
• The town has a chronic shortage of doctors. tree →
• He is a chronic worrier and frets about everything. tree →
• My little sister is a chronic nail-biter. tree →
• That match was chronic; we lost ten nil! (UK, informal) tree →
• Chronic tiredness can be a sign that you need to see a doctor. tree →

note

Adjective; adverb «chronically». Opposite in medicine: acute. Trap: chronic does NOT mean «very serious»; it means «long-lasting». The «ch» sounds like «k»: KRON-ik. Related: chronicle, chronology (all about time).

In the corpora

• Some illnesses in old age never go away; doctors call them chronic, and they can be controlled but not cured.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «chronic» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.