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
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.
Diabetic retinopathy affects people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026
Diabetic retinopathy results when high blood sugar harms blood vessels in the retina.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 5, 2024
Diabetic patients unable to access Ozempic suffer erratic blood glucose levels, medical professionals say – risking seizures, coma, or, rarely, death.
From Reuters • Nov. 18, 2023
I sent away to the American Diabetic Assn. for its vegetarian cookbook, which I found dull, unimaginative, basically boring and totally confusing in its format.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2023
Diabetic Bread.—Take one quart of set milk or milk and water, one heaping teaspoonful of good butter, one-fifth of a cake of compressed yeast beaten up with a little water, and two well-beaten eggs.
From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson
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.
