chronic

chronic — adjective

1. used to describe a medical condition or an unwanted situation that has lasted fo

1.形容詞C2
釋義

used to describe a medical condition or an unwanted situation that has lasted for a very long time, often for years, and that may be difficult to cure or fix

例句

Theo has had chronic knee pain since he hurt it playing rugby in 2018.

collocation: chronic pain

Leila's father visits the hospital each month for treatment of a chronic lung illness.

collocation: chronic lung illness

同義詞
  • persistent

    more neutral; can be used for positive or negative situations

  • long-term

    factual and less emotional; used for plans as well as problems

  • ongoing

    focuses on continuation rather than duration

  • recurring

    suggests the problem comes back repeatedly, not necessarily continuous

反義詞
  • acute

    describes a disease or problem that is severe but short-lived

  • temporary

    emphasizes that the situation will end soon

文法句型

chronic + noun (disease / problem / condition)

用法筆記

Frequently used in medical contexts (disease, pain, condition), but also extends naturally to any long-standing negative situation (shortage, unemployment, conflict). The word always carries a negative tone — positive situations are not described as chronic.

常見錯誤

❌He has an acute disease that has lasted for years.
✅He has a chronic disease that has lasted for years.
💡Acute describes something severe but short; chronic describes something long-lasting.

2. extremely unpleasant in quality — used informally to express strong dissatisfact

2.形容詞
釋義

extremely unpleasant in quality — used informally to express strong dissatisfaction with an experience, a thing, or a situation

例句

The weather on our camping trip was chronic — it rained every single day.

informal: strong disapproval of a situation

Yusuf said the film was chronic and walked out after thirty minutes.

同義詞
  • terrible

    neutral in register; understood in all varieties of English

  • awful

    common in both spoken and written English

  • dreadful

    slightly more formal or old-fashioned

反義詞

文法句型

be + chronic

用法筆記

This sense is informal and mainly used in British English, not American English. It describes the quality of an experience or thing — it does NOT carry the 'long-lasting' meaning of sense 1. Typically appears in predicative position (after be): 'The film was chronic,' not 'a chronic film.'

常見錯誤

❌This weather is so chronic!' (American listener may misunderstand).
✅This weather is so bad!
💡The informal sense of chronic is mainly British; in the US it is almost always interpreted as 'long-lasting'.