Munchausen's syndrome
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
Munchausen's syndrome /ˈmʌn(t)ʃˌaʊz(ə)nz/
▶noun Psychiatry a mental disorder in which a person feigns severe illness so as to obtain medical attention.
■ (Munchausen's syndrome by proxy) a mental disorder in which a person seeks attention by inducing or feigning illness in another person, typically a child.
– origin from the name of Baron Munchausen, the hero of a book of fantastic tales (1785).
'Munchausen's syndrome' also found in these Oxford entries:
