bedfast

9.9

Unable to get out of bed because of illness or weakness

adjective
/ˈbɛdˌfæst/

Specialized

: postrado

After falling ill, she was bedfast for several weeks, unable to get up from her bed.

Examples

His injury left him bedfast, relying on family members for assistance during his recovery.
Once she became bedfast, her friends visited daily to keep her spirits up.
Grandfather was bedfast in his final months, requiring constant care.
His bedfast condition made regular physical therapy a necessity.
The patient remained bedfast for several weeks following her surgery.
She is bedfast.
My grandmother is bedfast and requires constant care.

Synonyms

bedridden

vsbedfast

11 4.5

Unable to leave bed because of illness or injury

is identical in meaning according to the given descriptions

laid up

vsbedfast

10 5.6

Not able to work because you are sick or injured and must stay in bed

refers only to being confined to lying down for health reasons

sick-abed

vsbedfast

Archaic

9.9

Lying in bed because you are ill

is the same meaning here without added detail

bedrid

vsbedfast

Archaic

9.9

Unable to get out of bed because of illness

refers to confinement without stressing long duration

Antonyms

active

664 1.0

Operating now and not stopped

mobile

81 2.7

Able to change or move easily

How Bedridden

bedfast

Specialized

9.9

unwell

18 1.0

ambulatory

9 6.5

Surface Forms

bedfast positive

Morphology

bedfast = bed + fast (semi-transparent) = bed + fast

Formally 'bed' + 'fast' is clear, but the sense of 'fast' meaning 'firmly fixed' is less frequent and may be unfamiliar to learners, so deriving 'confined to bed' is not fully obvious.

Etymology

Bedfast is made of bed and fast, where fast means 'firmly' or 'fixed', just like in steadfast or the phrase 'hold fast'. So bedfast describes someone who is fixed in bed because of illness.