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invalid

invalid

4 6.1
A person who is too ill or weak to look after themselves
  • noun
  • /ˈɪnvəlɪd/
  • Slur
translation icon : inválido
  • Projects that reach out to give love and attention to the elderly and invalids.

Her mother was had turned to Christian Science and become an invalid, which was so ironic because you can't go to doctors.

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Examples

  • In the South, four hundred thousand war invalids of the old regime.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Now she lives in an old-age home for invalids in Gedera.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • To my mind the question is... the invalid's condition when the note was written.

  • The fact that she's an invalid makes absolutely no difference to me.

  • "Everything here is special order for invalids and children," the director said.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Years as an invalid had done nothing to soften her.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The German commander was an invalid who walked with the help of a stick on a shortened but still painful leg.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Men died on the battlefields, in hospitals from wounds and diseases, and many had to be retired as invalids unfit for further service.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Like Sharpe, approximately eighty-six Bartow soldiers who had volunteered in 1861 and 1862 returned home as invalids; most of them lived the rest of their lives without the use of one or more limbs.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Many invalids require assistance with daily activities due to their chronic conditions.

Synonyms

sick person
vsinvalid
55 1.0

A person who is ill

is specific to long term weakness and care needs rather than brief illness
disabled
vsinvalid
27 3.3

People with a long-term physical or mental condition that limits daily activities

is focused on those weakened by chronic illness or injury needing care
shut-in
vsinvalid
10 7.9

A person who cannot leave home because of long illness or injury

is broader meaning weakened and often needing care rather than just confined
diseased person
vsinvalid
1 3.2

A person who is sick and needs medical care

is about those weakened by chronic conditions often needing daily care

How Independent

self-reliant
13 4.5
independent
984 2.3
dependent
182 2.8
invalid
  • Slur
4 6.1
bedridden
11 4.5

Surface Forms

invalid singular
invalids plural

Morphology

invalid = valid (opaque) = in + valid

Although the form is in- + valid, the modern noun meaning 'a disabled person' (pronounced differently) is not derivable as 'not valid' and reflects a historical sense shift.

Etymology

Invalid as a noun also comes from in- 'not' + validus 'strong', so it once meant someone who was 'not strong'. That is why an invalid is a person made weak by long illness or injury and often needs care.