idiopathic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of idiopathic
Explanation
When your doctor isn't sure why you're sick, she might describe your illness as idiopathic, doctor-speak for "of unknown causes." The medical term idiopathic comes from Greek roots: idios, or "one's own," and pathos, "suffering" or "disease." The literal meaning is something like "a disease of its own," or an illness that isn't connected to any particular cause. This is often the diagnosis doctors end up with after ruling out a lot of known conditions or diseases, and it's an official-sounding way for a medical professional to say "I don't know why you're sick."
Vocabulary lists containing idiopathic
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Disability Visibility
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Where Only Storms Grow
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Here’s the promise part: Patients treated with Insilico’s investigational drug rentosertib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an age-related lung disease, showed a decline in their biological ages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
It’s acquiring Centessa Pharmaceuticals, which is working on orexin receptor 2 agonists for conditions like narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia — forms of daytime sleepiness.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026
Its first-generation candidate, ORX750, is aimed at treating three types of severe narcolepsy—type I, type II, and idiopathic hypersomnia.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2025
Joel noted that the condition is idiopathic, meaning no one knows the cause.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025
I once Googled “excessive blushing” and found out there’s a terrifying name for my condition: idiopathic craniofacial erythema.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
