idiopathic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of idiopathic
Explanation
When your doctor isn't sure why you're sick, she might describe your illness as idiopathic, doctor-speak for "of unknown causes." The medical term idiopathic comes from Greek roots: idios, or "one's own," and pathos, "suffering" or "disease." The literal meaning is something like "a disease of its own," or an illness that isn't connected to any particular cause. This is often the diagnosis doctors end up with after ruling out a lot of known conditions or diseases, and it's an official-sounding way for a medical professional to say "I don't know why you're sick."
Vocabulary lists containing idiopathic
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
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Disability Visibility
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Where Only Storms Grow
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s acquiring Centessa Pharmaceuticals, which is working on orexin receptor 2 agonists for conditions like narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia — forms of daytime sleepiness.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
The mother of two has idiopathic laryngotracheal stenosis, a rare condition that affects one in 500,000 women and causes abnormal narrowing of the voice box and windpipe.
From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025
Its first-generation candidate, ORX750, is aimed at treating three types of severe narcolepsy—type I, type II, and idiopathic hypersomnia.
From Barron's • Sep. 26, 2025
Hussain died Sunday afternoon in San Francisco of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease, his family said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2024
I went to school the next day and dramatically announced, “I have idiopathic craniofacial erythema!”
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
