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.
-
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
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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
-
have been diagnosingperfect progressive
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has been diagnosingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
They can also be difficult to diagnose, due to a lower level of bacteria shown in urine samples.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
What started as an unexpected finding in genetically modified mice helped reveal the cause of an extremely rare disease, transformed how doctors diagnose it, and provided the foundation for developing a drug.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Just remember: The companies say these are “wellness” devices, not medical instruments designed to diagnose or manage hypertension.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
And it left me with a question: Why is our mental-health system so quick to diagnose and so slow to examine the full context of a person’s suffering?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Take, for instance, the efforts at Cook County Hospital to help emergency room doctors better diagnose chest pain.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
According to the White House, the aim is to support policy reforms to ensure that women’s research is well-funded and that women have access to “stage-specific prevention, diagnoses, treatment, and care.”
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
The study wasn’t focused on healthcare specifically, but it raises important questions about whether patients and doctors using different languages can reliably receive consistent information about diagnoses, treatment options, and medical risks.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
There are two main types of lung cancer: "small cell" cancers, which spread aggressively and make up about 10 to 15% of diagnoses, and "non-small cell" cancers, which make up the vast majority.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
It looked at people of all ages, but particularly focused on young people and children who have the highest rates of diagnoses.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Yeah, it’s like that at first. Mainly because diagnoses change, but also because the words themselves carry so much baggage. Know what I mean?”
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
In particular, the scientists emphasize the need to test the system in patients at high risk, including those experiencing unexplained weight loss or recently diagnosed diabetes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
He was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent successful surgery in Rome on 13 October to remove a tumour on the lower part of his right lung.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The difference was even more pronounced when researchers examined scans taken more than two years before the patients were diagnosed.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Faye Ramsey, 32, from Ipswich, spent 10 years in agony, with doctors suggesting she had irritable bowel syndrome before she was finally diagnosed last year.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Unlike Rajesh, who was never formally diagnosed, Jagu was.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
"It's understandable because GPs are often confronted with depressed patients and therefore they're very focused on diagnosing depression correctly," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Although Cousins is in the twilight of his career, he has thrown a league-high nine touchdown passes, thriving in a system that emphasizes play action schemes and quickly diagnosing coverages, two areas where Cousins excels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Healthcare professionals “are often undertrained and ill-equipped in diagnosing elder abuse.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Modern therapies can help many patients achieve remission, but diagnosing and managing IBD remains challenging.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Doctors would do better in these cases if they knew less about their patients—if, that is, they had no idea whether the people they were diagnosing were white or black, male or female.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
