diagnostic

[ dahy-uhg-nos-tik ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or used in diagnosis.
2. serving to identify or characterize; being a precise indication.

noun

1. diagnosis ( def 1 ).
2. a symptom or characteristic of value in diagnosis.
3. Medicine/Medical. a device or substance used for the analysis or detection of diseases or other medical conditions.
4. Computers.
   1. a message output by a computer diagnosing an error in a computer program, computer system, or component device.
   2. a program or subroutine that produces such messages.

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

• ˌdiagˈnostically, adverb

Other Words From

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of diagnostic¹

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

Example Sentences

Two additional operating theatres, and a MRI scanner to increase surgical and diagnostic capacity, were installed at Forth Valley Royal Hospital as part of the NTC project and are already up and running.

From BBC

“Based on recent diagnostic results, it’s apparent that migratory waterfowl are moving this new ‘D’ genotype down the Pacific Flyway,” said Bryan Richards, the Emerging Disease Coordinator at the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

The 40-foot-long UniMóvil — with two exam rooms, diagnostic equipment, and a lab — brings health care to rural communities in Texas' Rio Grande Valley.

From Salon

Race isn’t his subject, though it’s a compounding factor in his extreme alienation, which Booth chooses to examine in the universal terms of a modern fable, unlimited by demographic or diagnostic categories.

From Los Angeles Times

A trial to let women with worrying breast cancer symptoms book appointments directly with diagnostic clinics without going to see their GP first is being planned in one region of England.

From BBC