misdiagnosis

American  

[mis-dahy-uhg-noh-sis] / ˌmɪs daɪ əgˈnoʊ sɪs /

noun

• misdiagnoses
  plural

1. an incorrect diagnosis.

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misdiagnosis British  

/ ˌmɪsdaɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs /

noun

1. the act or an instance of misdiagnosing or being misdiagnosed

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• misdiagnoses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of misdiagnosis

First recorded in 1945–50; mis- ¹ + diagnosis

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

misdiagnosis misdiagnoses

The Royal College of Psychiatrists is issuing a public apology for what it says is decades of mismanagement and misdiagnosis in the UK.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Patients say misdiagnosis of the syndrome is common and diagnoses can be delayed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Recent cases of alleged misdiagnosis illustrate this point.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 30, 2025

In some cases, this could lead to a misdiagnosis when sleep deprivation is the underlying issue.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 29, 2025

Is it based on a misdiagnosis of a legitimate problem, such as declaring that a construction which is sometimes ambiguous is always ungrammatical?

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

“All we need are some horror stories” about misdiagnoses or dangerous advice, “and that whole area is tarred.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

For nearly a year, repeated misdiagnoses of the deadly kala-azar disease left 60-year-old Harada Hussein Abdirahman's health deteriorating, as an outbreak in Kenya's arid regions claimed a record number of lives.

From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026

In a follow-up study to his 2008 look at misdiagnosis, Zimmerman and his collaborators looked for conditions that were masked by possible bipolar misdiagnoses.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2024

This can lead to misdiagnoses or incorrect dosage of medication.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2024

After five months of misdiagnoses, Jaelle Karinna was told she had cancer.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2023