What does choleraic mean?
Choleraic is an adjective with two related senses. In its literal, medical use, it describes something connected with cholera, the severe bacterial infection of the small intestine that caused devastating epidemics in the nineteenth century; one might speak of choleraic symptoms or choleraic outbreaks. In its broader figurative use, it characterises a person or mood as irritable, peevish, or prone to angry outbursts — a temper as violent and sudden as the disease itself. This figurative sense rests on the word's Greek roots, where 'cholera' originally signified an excess of yellow bile, the bodily humour that classical physicians believed produced anger. Choleraic sits close to its cousin 'choleric' in meaning, though it retains the extra medical dimension. It belongs chiefly to formal and literary writing rather than casual conversation, lending a slightly archaic, learned flavour when used to describe someone's temper.
Relating to or affected with cholera.
"Choleraic diarrhoea was the most feared symptom of the outbreak."
Chiefly historical or clinical; modern writing about cholera rarely needs this adjective.
Irritable, peevish, or given to sudden outbursts of anger.
"He grew increasingly choleraic as the delays mounted."
In ancient Greek medicine, 'cholera' meant an overflow of yellow bile — the substance blamed for making people bad-tempered — which is why calling someone choleraic is literally calling them full of bile.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of choleraic
Choleraic comes from the Latin 'cholera' (and ultimately Greek 'cholera'), derived from Greek 'cholē', meaning bile. In ancient Greek humoral medicine, an excess of yellow bile was thought to cause both the disease later called cholera and an angry, irritable temperament, which explains how one adjective came to cover both senses. The adjective formed with the suffix '-ic' entered English alongside other terms of the same family, such as 'choler', 'cholera', and 'choleric'.
How choleraic is actually used
The medical sense is now largely historical or clinical, since cholera itself is discussed more directly than described adjectivally. The figurative sense overlaps heavily with 'choleric' and carries a somewhat formal, literary register; in everyday speech, words like 'irritable' or 'bad-tempered' are more common.
Easily confused with choleraic
Both words can mean irritable, but 'choleric' refers specifically to the hot-tempered humour of classical medicine, while 'choleraic' derives from the disease cholera and additionally has a literal medical sense meaning 'relating to cholera'.