As nouns the difference between inpatient and inmate
is that inpatient is a patient whose treatment needs at least one night's residence in a hospital; a hospitalized patient while inmate is a person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict) or hospital (as a patient).
inpatient
English
Alternative forms
* in-patient
Noun
(
en noun)
A patient whose treatment needs at least one night's residence in a hospital; a hospitalized patient.
Antonyms
* outpatient
inmate
English
Noun
(
en noun)
A person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict) or hospital (as a patient)
A person who occupies or dwells within a dwelling-house. The word came to be used to refer to temporary inhabitants such as guests in a hotel, students in an on-campus dormitory, patients in a hospital, or prisoners.
Usage notes
Perhaps around 1970, television journalists began to use the word as a euphemism for "prisoner", and today perhaps many young people cannot remember that it ever had any other meaning.
Anagrams
*
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