Definition of "rheumatoid"

rheumatoid

adjective
not generally comparable, comparative more rheumatoid, superlative most rheumatoid
1. (medicine, usually) Involving or pertaining to rheumatism, especially rheumatoid arthritis.
  Quotations
  Rheumatoid sufferers have such pain and discomfort every day of their lives that they live eternally in high hopes of something effective turning up.
  1976 March 27, F. Dudley Hart, “History of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis”, in British Medical Journal, volume 1, number 6012, page 763
2. (medicine, dated) Presenting analogies with rheumatism.
noun
plural rheumatoids
1. (medicine, dated) A person with rheumatoid arthritis.
  Quotations
  The highly significant findings with regard to hurt feelings suggests that the hypothesis that rheumatoids learn to hide their hurt feelings and are reticent about expressing their dissatisfactions may be correct.
  1965 December, Sidney Cobb, Stanislav V. Kasl, Edith Chen, Roger Christenfeld, “Some psychological and social characteristics of patients hospitalized for rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, and duodenal ulcer”, in Journal of Chronic Diseases, volume 18, number 12, page 1269