CHRONIC Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'chronic' distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words confirmed and inveterate are common synonyms of chronic . While all three words mean "firmly established," chronic suggests something that is persistent or endlessly recurrent and troublesome. // a chronic complainer

Q: When can 'confirmed' be used instead of 'chronic'?

The words confirmed and chronic are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, confirmed implies a growing stronger and firmer with time so as to resist change or reform. // a confirmed bachelor

Q: When could 'inveterate' be used to replace 'chronic'?

While the synonyms inveterate and chronic are close in meaning, inveterate applies to a habit, attitude, or feeling of such long existence as to be practically ineradicable or unalterable. // an inveterate smoker

chronic

adjective

ˈkrä-nik

Definition of chronic

as in persistent

being such by habit and not likely to change a chronic smoker who has quit—many, many times

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How is the word chronic distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words confirmed and inveterate are common synonyms of chronic. While all three words mean "firmly established," chronic suggests something that is persistent or endlessly recurrent and troublesome.

a chronic complainer

When can confirmed be used instead of chronic?

The words confirmed and chronic are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, confirmed implies a growing stronger and firmer with time so as to resist change or reform.

a confirmed bachelor

When could inveterate be used to replace chronic?

While the synonyms inveterate and chronic are close in meaning, inveterate applies to a habit, attitude, or feeling of such long existence as to be practically ineradicable or unalterable.

an inveterate smoker

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of chronic Manage Stress — Some stress is inevitable, but being in chronic fight-or-flight can speed up brain aging and inflammation build up. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 14 Aug. 2026 News that Dias’ cause of death was natural and that the reality star had complications with chronic substance abuse. — Emma Banks, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026 Outside of the walls of clinics, interventions like these are helping to manage the high incidence of comorbid obesity, diabetes, and chronic conditions all too common in low-income communities. — Kyle Vanelli, STAT, 14 Aug. 2026 Many of the people that Vibrant Health serves are people who fall well below the poverty level, and many experience chronic health conditions, Kim Gasper, chief advancement officer, said. — Sofi Zeman august 13, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chronic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chronic

Adjective

Why recruiting became political The Pentagon is emerging from the yearslong recruiting slump that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, easing one of the military's most persistent political headaches that drew bipartisan anxiety on Capitol Hill.

— Steven Beynon, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
There is also persistent friction between Arab and Kurdish communities in the northeast of the country, and the government has had to respond to pockets of violence against the religious Alawite minority along Syria’s coast.

— Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of persistent

Adjective

Binface, a serial candidate who has challenged prime ministers past and present, became the default challenger in a field of 34 candidates after the major parties boycotted the campaign as a political stunt by Farage.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Liz Meriwether sorta, kinda uses the 1987 thriller Black Widow — in which a government agent (Debra Winger) hunts a female serial killer (Theresa Russell) — as a starting point for a series that doesn’t even bear that title anymore.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of serial

Adjective

Organizations frequently chase transformation through sweeping initiatives while overlooking subtle changes that disrupt habitual thinking.

— Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
The Indiana Fever — a habitual middle-of-the-pack franchise, 14 years removed from its only championship — have been on a hot streak on the court lately that has carried them up among the championship contenders.

— Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of habitual

Adjective

The cast features not just the creator, who makes the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype her own as ukulele troubadour Lulu, but also a pre-Bridgerton Jonathan Bailey in the wild role of an inveterate womanizer.

— Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
In the guest section, apparently at the invitation of one of the liberal Justices, sat Robert De Niro, an inveterate Trump critic.

— Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of inveterate

Adjective

There was an important loan at Clermont Foot in January 2024 as the defender looked for regular playing time.

— Gregg Evans, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
For the first time of their career, brothers Kyle and Corey Seager meet in a regular season game and, fittingly, both hit homers as Corey’s Dodgers defeat Kyle’s Mariners, 11 - 9.

— Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of regular

Adjective

The versatile 5-in-1 scissors tackle everything from opening stubborn packaging to cutting herbs and cracking nuts.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
Supporters say soaring demand for electricity for AI data centers and EVs is colliding with California’s push for 100% clean power, leaving a stubborn gap in round-the-clock, low-carbon supply that should be met by nuclear.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of stubborn

Adjective

Coming up from a rough childhood with an absent father and addicted mother, Vanity Fair reported, Shakur combined a love of hip-hop and other performing arts with classical poetry and Shakespeare.

— Andy Rose, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
Now, with one-year mercenary players plus rapid roster turnover, the first game deters even the most addicted sports gambler.

— Mac Engel July 28, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 July 2026

Definition of addicted

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“Chronic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chronic. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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