neurasthenic
- noun
- /ˌnʊərəˈsθɛnɪk/
- Archaic
:
neurasthenico
- After months of overworking himself, John felt like a neurasthenic, overwhelmed by fatigue and anxiety.
Examples
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If I must choose whether to be a comic eccentric, a Poeian madman, a Southern neurasthenic, or a fin-de-siècle aesthete, I choose the first, to the extent that choice is possible.
Academic text (2002) -
Among our artists, Munch is the one whose entire temperament is formed by the neurasthenic...
Academic text (1993) -
Durkheim also proposed that the neurasthenic may be predisposed to suicide, "for by temperament neurasthenics seem destined to suffer."
Academic text (1993) -
She was often described as a neurasthenic, constantly battling exhaustion from the stress of her responsibilities.
-
Throughout history, many artists have been labeled as neurasthenic due to their intense emotional struggles and fatigue.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Neurasthenic comes from Greek parts neuron ('nerve') and asthenia ('weakness'); 19th-century doctors used the related word neurasthenia to mean 'nervous exhaustion'. So, a neurasthenic is a person with that nervous weakness, feeling very tired in body and mind because of stress.
