convalescent

/ˈkɑnvəˌlɛsnt/

Other forms: convalescents; convalescently

A person who's recovering from an illness is a convalescent. As a convalescent recovering from surgery, your grandmother would probably love some company to cheer her and help pass the time.

Convalescent, as an adjective, can describe the period of recovery or anything related to the process of returning to health, like a convalescent program of physical therapy or a convalescent ward at a hospital. As a noun, a convalescent is a person who is recovering from being sick. The origin of convalescent is the Latin root valescere, which means "to begin to grow strong."

Definitions of convalescent

1. adjective

   returning to health after illness or debility
   “convalescent children are difficult to keep in bed”

   synonyms: recovering

   ill, sick

   affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
2. noun

   a person who is recovering from illness
   type of:

   diseased person, sick person, sufferer

   a person suffering from an illness