incurables
Beyond medical help
Incurables are people suffering from diseases or conditions that cannot be cured.
The term appears in historical contexts—hospitals and asylums once had wards for incurables, separating those beyond medical help from patients expected to recover.
The word can extend figuratively to anyone considered beyond reform: The optimists among us are incurables.
Persisting over time
- terminalAt the endpoint
- palliativeOffering relief, not remedy
- hospiceTerminal illness comfort program
- asylumShelter from persecution
sanatorium · leper colony · quarantine · patient · ward · institution · prognosis · diagnosis
Total absence of hope
- futilityLack of purpose
- resignationVoluntary relinquishment of position
- helplessnessLacking ability to cope
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
lost cause · beyond help · irredeemable · untreatable · doomed · fatalism · pessimism · bleak
Shelter from persecution
- poorhouseShelter for the destitute
- isolationComplete separation from others
- outcastsRejected, excluded people
- untouchablesExcluded social group
segregation · colony · Victorian · charity · almshouse · infirmary
One still alive after
- fortitudeEnduring courage under pain
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
- resilienceCapacity to recover quickly
determination · endurance · living with · coping · adaptation · acceptance · dignity · courage
chronic
Persisting over time
- terminalAt the endpoint
- palliativeOffering relief, not remedy
- hospiceTerminal illness comfort program
asylum · sanatorium · leper colony · quarantine · patient · ward · institution · prognosis · diagnosis · remission
despair
Total absence of hope
- futilityLack of purpose
- resignationVoluntary relinquishment of position
- helplessnessLacking ability to cope
abandonment · lost cause · beyond help · irredeemable · untreatable · doomed · fatalism · pessimism · bleak · desolate
asylum
Shelter from persecution
- poorhouseShelter for the destitute
- isolationComplete separation from others
- outcastsRejected, excluded people
untouchables · segregation · colony · Victorian · charity · almshouse · infirmary
survivor
One still alive after
- fortitudeEnduring courage under pain
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
resilience · determination · endurance · living with · coping · adaptation · acceptance · dignity · courage · strength
- incurable diseaseUntreatable medical condition