diagnostic

[ dahy-uhg-nos-tik ]
See synonyms for: diagnosticdiagnostics on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or used in diagnosis.

  2. serving to identify or characterize; being a precise indication.

noun
  1. a symptom or characteristic of value in diagnosis.

  1. Medicine/Medical. a device or substance used for the analysis or detection of diseases or other medical conditions.

  2. Computers.

    • a message output by a computer diagnosing an error in a computer program, computer system, or component device.

    • a program or subroutine that produces such messages.

Origin of diagnostic

1
1615–25; <Greek diagnōstikós, equivalent to diagnōst(ós) distinguished (akin to diágnōsis;see diagnosis) + -ikos-ic

Other words from diagnostic

  • di·ag·nos·ti·cal·ly, adverb
  • post·di·ag·nos·tic, adjective
  • pre·di·ag·nos·tic, adjective

Words Nearby diagnostic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use diagnostic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for diagnostic

diagnostic

/ (ˌdaɪəɡˈnɒstɪk) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or of value in diagnosis

noun
  1. med any symptom that provides evidence for making a specific diagnosis

  2. a diagnosis

Derived forms of diagnostic

  • diagnostically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012