diagnose
Americanverb (used with object)
-
diagnoses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
diagnosed,
past participle, past
-
diagnosing
present participle
-
to determine the identity of (a disease, illness, etc.) by a medical examination.
The doctor diagnosed the illness as influenza.
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to ascertain the cause or nature of (a disorder, malfunction, problem, etc.) from the symptoms.
The mechanic diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine knock.
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to classify or determine on the basis of scientific examination.
verb (used without object)
-
diagnoses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
diagnosed,
past participle, past
-
diagnosing
present participle
verb
-
to determine or distinguish by diagnosis
-
(tr) to examine (a person or thing), as for a disease
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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underdiagnoseverb (used with object)
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diagnosableadjective
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undiagnosableadjective
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undiagnosedadjective
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well-diagnosedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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diagnosesimple
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diagnosessimple
-
have diagnosedperfect
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has diagnosedperfect
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am diagnosingprogressive
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are diagnosingprogressive
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is diagnosingprogressive
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have been diagnosingperfect progressive
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has been diagnosingperfect progressive
Past
-
diagnosedsimple
-
had diagnosedperfect
-
was diagnosingprogressive
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were diagnosingprogressive
-
had been diagnosingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of diagnose
First recorded in 1860–65; back formation from diagnosis
Explanation
If you diagnose a disease, you recognize it by the signs and symptoms your patient shows. Your high temperature and the green crud you keep coughing up will allow your doctor to diagnose your bronchitis. The verb diagnose was first used in medicine, meaning "make a diagnosis," or identify a disease by observation of symptoms. Use it to describe the process of figuring it out. If you have bad gut pain, ask your doctor to diagnose your condition. You can also use diagnose for other problems, like if you diagnose poverty and malnutrition as the real causes of a student's terrible behavior, or diagnose the virus that caused your computer to crash.
Vocabulary lists containing diagnose
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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“About Edward Jenner” from the Jenner Institute
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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.
See Examples For:
However, pyromania is a rare psychiatric disorder that Lejoyeux says is very difficult to diagnose, and accounts for few arson convictions.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
In a Facebook post on Friday, Chris Eksteen, executive director of the Ojai Raptor Center, where she is being treated, described everything that has been done to diagnose her condition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Some drivers now consult artificial intelligence to gut-check quotes, diagnose problems—and even guide them through basic repairs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
I’m not saying to try to diagnose her from afar; in fact, a manager asking an employee about their health can be illegal in certain situations.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
He’d been the first investor to diagnose the disorder in the American financial system in early 2003: the extension of credit by instrument.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
One important limitation is that the researchers cannot determine with certainty whether Shingrix itself was responsible for the lower rate of dementia diagnoses.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
These diagnoses are incorporated into a Medicare Advantage risk score for each enrollee; the higher the risk score, the higher the payment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
The same chatbot, shown years of labs, imaging and diagnoses, can catch glucose, blood pressure and weight drifting up together, years before any one measure crosses a line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
It may be that autism diagnoses have increased - but Karavolos argues that's because people need to access the right support.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Gruby diagnoses a heart problem: that’s what is causing his great exhaustion.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in December and had surgery this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Nearly three dozen matches came from people diagnosed with cancer, specifically lung, breast, and liver cancers.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
None of the centenarians or supercentenarians in the study had been diagnosed with those cancers.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
She was diagnosed with cervical cancer at 28, following screening, and says it as the last thing she expected, given she was young, healthy and had no symptoms.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
My father had been diagnosed as having Parkinson’s disease several years before.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
This is an open dialogue around diagnosing the situation we are in and what it will take to move forward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
These particles may offer new biomarkers for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease and determining how far it has progressed.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Hendrickx started working with autistic people in the education sector a quarter of a century ago and later took on a role diagnosing the condition.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Emergency room physicians were diagnosing diabetes in severely ill people who did not know they had the disease and treating life-threatening complications for those whose disease had long gone unmanaged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
He asked Howard Jones to contribute an article recording his memories of diagnosing Henrietta’s tumor.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
