lasting for a very long time or happening again and again, especially about an illness or medical problem
After months of physical therapy, Lena finally learned how to manage her chronic knee pain.
The doctor explained that asthma is a chronic condition that needs regular care.
✦ from Greek ‘khronikos’ meaning ‘of time’, related to ‘khronos’ (time); entered English in the 15th century to describe long-lasting illnesses
describing a person or habit that is annoying or bad and happens all the time
Jake is a chronic latecomer who never arrives on time.
My sister is a chronic worrier and frets about even the smallest things.
(slang) very strong, high-quality marijuana
They bought some chronic for the music festival.
He said the chronic from California was the best he’d ever tried.
✦ slang sense popularized in 1990s American hip-hop culture, referring to potent strains of cannabis; possibly from ‘hydroponic’ pronounced ‘hydro-chronic’ and shortened
a written or spoken record that describes events in the order they happened
The museum displayed a medieval chronicle written by monks.
Her memoir serves as a personal chronicle of life during the war.
✦ Middle English: from Anglo-French cronicle, based on Latin chronica (see chronicles), from Greek khronika ‘annals,’ from khronos ‘time’.
to record events in the order they happen, often in detail and over a long period
The photographer travels the world to chronicle endangered cultures.
Over five years, she chronicled her son's growth in a series of photos.
✦ Derived from the noun chronicle; first used as a verb in the late 16th century.
