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:
Disrupted sleep raises the stress hormone, cortisol, which in turn promotes insulin resistance and pushes the body toward a diabetic state.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
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
Rates of diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening complication that occurs when insulin levels are so low that cells can no longer convert glucose into energy, were three times that of the rest of Los Angeles County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
“It’s fine. I’m not embarrassed or anything. I mean, why should I be? You wouldn't be embarrassed if you were diabetic, would you? Or if you had a heart condition?”
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Keeping diabetics out of emergency rooms is cost-effective medicine.
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
I believe it is important for diabetics to have access to whatever treatment options they need to not just manage their condition, but thrive.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2024
Type 1 diabetics don't make insulin, a hormone that is required to live that promotes the uptake of glucose, or sugar, into cells.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024
She suspected that these days, even the innocent and the round-eyed could be crockery crooks, or cream-bun cravers, or thieving diabetics cruising Ayemenem for imported insulin.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
