English

Noun

hypochondria ‎(uncountable)

1. (medicine) A psychological disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness.
2. (obsolete, medicine) Melancholy; depression
   • 1833, Richard Robert Madden, The Infirmities of Genius Illustrated by Referring the Anomalies in the Literary Character to the Habits and Constitutional Peculiarities of Men of Genius, page 96

     Such labours as these, if they do not shorten life, are calculated to make it wretched, for hypochondria invariably follows close upon them.

   • 1845, Life of G. W. von Leibnitz. On the basis of the German work of ... G. E. Guhrauer, page 275

     His own temperament appears to have been neither purely sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, nor melancholic [...] not melancholy, since he is entirely free from hypochondria, thinks rapidly, and has an active will.

   • 1849, Franz Hartmann, Charles Julius Hempel, Theory of acute diseases, and their homoeopathic treatment, page 200

     Nux likewise corresponds to hypochondria caused by rich and excessive living. In general, Nux is the best remedy for hypochondria arising from a morbid condition of the abdominal nerves ; after dinner, the patients generally experience a feeling of malaise and langour.

Usage notes

• The technical use of hypochondria is as a synonym for hypochondriasis, while the colloquial use approximates somatization disorder (a different somatoform disorder). In cases where ambiguity is undesirable and the context may not be sufficient to identify the intended sense, it may be preferable to avoid the term hypochondria, using one of these terms instead.

Translations

Related terms

Etymology 2

Noun

hypochondria

1. plural of hypochondrium

Portuguese

Noun

hypochondria f (plural hypochondrias)

1. Obsolete spelling of hipocondria (used in Portugal until September 1911 and died out in Brazil during the 1920s).