diagnose
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
verb
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to determine or distinguish by diagnosis
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(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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well-diagnosedadjective
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diagnosableadjective
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undiagnosableadjective
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undiagnosedadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has diagnosedperfect 3rd person singular
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have diagnosedperfect
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have been diagnosingperfect progressive
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are diagnosingprogressive
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is diagnosingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been diagnosingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am diagnosingprogressive 1st person singular
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diagnosingparticiple
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diagnosessingular 3rd person
Past
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had diagnosedperfect
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were diagnosingprogressive plural
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was diagnosingprogressive singular
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had been diagnosingperfect progressive
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diagnosedsimple
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diagnosedparticiple
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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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.
