neurasthenicadj.n.
/ˌnjʊərəsˈθɛnɪk/, U.S. /ˌn(j)ʊrəsˈθɛnɪk/ Medicine.
A. adj.
Of the nature of or characteristic of neurasthenia; affected or caused by neurasthenia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disorders of nervous system > [adjective] > nervous debility
neurasthenic1857
neurasthenical1899
psychasthenic1901
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [adjective] > impairment of mental powers > psychasthenia
neuradynamic1857
neurasthenic1857
abulic1889
neurasthenical1899
psychasthenic1901
1857 R. G. Mayne Expos. Lexicon Med. Sci. (1860) Neurasthenicus,..neurasthenic.
1876 tr. H. W. von Ziemssen et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. XI. 141 A form of headache which I shall take the liberty of calling neurasthenic headache.
1881 Med. Temp. Jrnl. 47 163 The neurasthenic..condition is first recognised by lassitude.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 135 Neurasthenic persons would..escape even medical recognition.
1925 S. Lewis Arrowsmith xxviii. 317 He made a checking list of the favorite neurasthenic fears: agoraphobia, claustrophobia, pyrophobia, anthropophobia, and the rest.
1949 H. Bailey Demonstr. Physical Signs Clin. Surg. (ed. 11) iii. 29 A high-stepping gait is seen in some neurasthenic states, strychnine poisoning, and foot-drop from any cause.
1985 E. Showalter Female Malady (1988) vii. 174 Neurasthenic symptoms, such as nightmares, insomnia, heart palpitations, dizziness, depression or disorientation, were more common among officers.
1993 N.Y. Times Mag. 24 Oct. 119/2 In 1953, a pale neurasthenic youth from French Algeria won the coveted International Wool Secretariat contest for dress design with a cocktail gown. Yves Saint Laurent was just 17.
B. n.
A person suffering from neurasthenia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disorders of nervous system > [noun] > nervous debility > person
neurasthenic1884
neurastheniac1904
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > impairment of mental powers > aboulia or psychasthenia > person
neurasthenic1884
abulic1889
psychasthenic1901
neurastheniac1904
1884 T. S. Dowse Brain & Nerves 26 No class of people are more anxious about the future than neurasthenics.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 897 A state that may find expression in the fibrillary trembling of neurasthenics.
1920 Cornhill Mag. Oct. 413 Merely..a neurasthenic irritated beyond endurance by the suing dullness of the town.
1957 T. Leary Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality ix. 186 Patients..include the phobics, neurasthenics, anxiety neurotics.
1982 M. Seymour-Smith Robert Graves v. 57 Siegfried was to become a patient at a convalescent home for neurasthenics.
2001 Neurology 57 510 Charcot sympathized more with the treating physician than the patient, calling neurasthenics insufferable.
Derivatives
neurasˈthenically adv. in a way characteristic or suggestive of neurasthenia.
ΚΠ
1890 Cent. Dict. Neurasthenically.
1937 D. Thomas Coll. Lett. (1987) 248 I haven't seen or written to you or let you know I'm alive—which, at the moment, and remembering neurasthenically my days of almost-death, I don't think I was.
1996 A. Theroux Secondary Colors 160 In Maria Edgeworth's curious moral tale ‘The Purple Jar’, the protagonist, Rosamond, neurasthenically prefers a gaudy jar to a new pair of shoes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1857