diagnose
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to identify a disease or illness by looking at a person's symptoms.
to identify the nature of an illness or other medical condition by examination of the symptoms. Transitive, taking the condition or the patient as the direct object.
Simple“The doctor diagnosed her with a mild allergy after she developed a rash.”
In context“Specialists spent weeks running tests before they could accurately diagnose the rare genetic condition affecting the patient's nervous system.”
UsageCommonly used in the passive voice: 'He was diagnosed with...'
PitfallThe doctor diagnosed him for the flu. The doctor diagnosed him with the flu.Use the preposition 'with' to connect the patient to the specific illness.
- 02 C1 Advanced
to find the exact cause of a problem with a machine, a system, or a situation.
to determine the cause of a mechanical failure, technical fault, or systemic problem through systematic analysis.
Simple“The mechanic used a computer to diagnose the fault in the car's engine.”
In context“The consultant was hired to diagnose the underlying issues that were causing the company's sudden drop in productivity.”
UsageOften takes an abstract noun like 'problem', 'fault', or 'issue' as a direct object.
Usage diagnosed with autism
Back-formation from diagnosis. Compare also sclerose (verb).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.