adjective
-
of, relating to, or having diabetes
-
for the use of diabetics
diabetic chocolate
noun
Usage
Rather than talking about a diabetic or diabetics , it is better to talk about a person with diabetes , people with diabetes
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of diabetic
First recorded in 1790–1800; diabet(es) + -ic
Explanation
If you're a diabetic, you are a person who suffers from the disease of diabetes. Diabetics tend to have wildly varying blood sugar levels, which can sometimes be dangerous. A diabetic's pancreas typically doesn't produce enough insulin, the hormone in your body that metabolizes sugars and carbohydrates. The word diabetic is also an adjective that describes someone who has the illness or something associated with it. Your diabetic friend might need to monitor her blood sugar several times a day and follow a special diabetic diet. The word comes from the Greek, in which it means "excessive discharge of urine," one of the illness's symptoms.
Vocabulary lists containing diabetic
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.
See Examples For:
Former Kaiser CEO George Halvorson has written that if a diabetic in a Medicare Advantage plan requires a foot amputation, that will likely cost the plan $100,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
"I have a heart condition, I'm diabetic and I feel it a lot," he said, after coming out in the cooler early hours to do his shopping.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
The hospital’s most severely diabetic patients were hospitalized for diabetes at less than half the rate of the area’s general population.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
"I was one decimal point away from being diabetic," Doran, who lives in Ottawa, Canada, told the BBC.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
We righted the tiers and replaced the cages; then we were faced with the impossible task of sorting the cancerous rats and mice, the diabetic dogs, the Aschheim-Zondek rabbits, and the Wassermann guinea pigs.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
The key to preventing blindness in diabetics is controlling blood sugar levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
She’s forming long-term relationships with nonpartisan interests and groups—firefighters, diabetics, healthcare researchers, Alzheimer’s research advocacy groups—that lock into her coalition.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
As he comes from a family of diabetics, the 42-year-old is now concerned another medical issue could force him into debt once again.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
In addition to insulin, Type 1 diabetics don't make another hormone, amylin, which slows gastric motility.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024
In addition to the daily multitude, those amateur cooks were faced with allergy cases, diabetics, nursing mothers, infants who required special feedings.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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.
