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Book Glossary

pathological

adjective · /path-uh-LAH-jih-kul/

Pathological means caused by an illness, or so strong and hard to control that it seems like an illness. It is a serious word often used by doctors or in phrases like “pathological lying.”

In a sentence

  • "The character had a pathological habit of exaggerating every tiny adventure into a giant quest."
  • "The veterinarian checked whether the puppy’s tiredness had a pathological cause."

Dictionary definition · pathological

adjective

  1. of or relating to the practice of pathology"pathological laboratory"
  2. caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition"a pathological liar"
  3. caused by or altered by or manifesting disease or pathology"diseased tonsils"

Similar words

pathologicdiseasedmorbid

Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).