Word
diagnose
Meanings
To identify a medical condition by examining symptoms and test results.
To find the cause of a problem in a system, machine, or situation after careful analysis.
Definition
To diagnose means to identify a disease or problem by examining its signs and causes.
To diagnose is to work out what illness, condition, or problem someone has by analyzing symptoms, tests, or evidence. Doctors diagnose medical conditions, and people also diagnose technical or organizational issues. It often implies a careful process of investigation rather than a quick guess.
Examples
- After reviewing the scans, the specialist could diagnose the condition with confidence.
- I couldn’t diagnose the strange noise in my laptop until I removed the back panel and inspected the fan.
- She asked the team to diagnose why customer complaints had increased so sharply over the last month.
- They brought in an engineer to diagnose the power failures before restarting the production line.
Common mistake
Learners often confuse diagnose (identify the problem) with treat (deal with the problem) and say “diagnose him” instead of “diagnose him with something” or “diagnose the condition.”
More at C1 level
- ubiquitous Present, appearing, or found everywhere at the same time.
- xenophobia Xenophobia is a strong dislike or fear of people from other countries or cultures.
- genocide Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular group in order to …
- conundrum A conundrum is a confusing and difficult problem to solve.
- pretentious Trying to seem more important, intelligent, or cultured than you really are.
More verbs
- analyze To examine something carefully in order to understand it or explain it.
- scrutinize To scrutinize something is to examine it very carefully and in detail.
- affect To affect something is to influence it or cause it to change.
- allude To allude means to mention or suggest something indirectly without saying it clearly.
- elude To elude someone or something is to avoid being caught, understood, or remembered.