Meanings
sanitarium1
plural sanitariums · plural sanitaria
- USalternativeAlternative form of sanatorium.
Treatment in tuberculosis sanitariums at the expense of the public might be warranted.
1954 February 15, Henry E. Michelson, “The Syndrome of Lupus Erythematosus”, in Modern Medicine, volume 22, number 4, Minneapolis, Minn.: Modern Medicine Publications, Inc., page 982 more examples
[H]e was led away to a private sanitarium for mental disease, while in the newspapers appeared pathetic accounts of his mental breakdown and of the saintliness of his character.
1908 February 19, Jack London, “The Bishop”, in The Iron Heel, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 188Of all the queer collections of humans outside of a crazy asylum, it seemed to me this sanitarium was the cup winner. […] When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
Sanitarium2
- PhilippinescolloquialinformalAdventist Medical Center College - Iligan
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna hospital for recuperation or for the treatment of chronic diseases
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
sanitarium · noun
Perhaps a blend of sanitary + sanatorium. Coined by John Harvey Kellogg.
Full word history & related roots →Sanitarium · proper noun
Ellipsis of Mindanao Sanitarium and Hospital College, the former name of Adventist Medical Center College - Iligan.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
sanitarium. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sanitarium
“sanitarium.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sanitarium. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sanitarium,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sanitarium.
Source: sanitarium on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.