diagnose
To identify an illness or disease after examination.
readingHealth
IELTS use
Common in medical reading passages about how doctors determine conditions.
Examples
- Doctors diagnose diseases based on symptoms and tests.
- It can be difficult to diagnose rare illnesses.
- The patient was diagnosed with diabetes at age 40.
Collocations
- diagnose a disease
- Early testing helps diagnose a disease sooner.
- diagnosed with
- She was diagnosed with a heart condition.
- correctly diagnose
- It is important to correctly diagnose the problem.
- diagnose the cause
- Doctors tried to diagnose the cause of the pain.
Word family
- Noun
- diagnosis
- Verb
- diagnose
- Adjective
- diagnostic
Paraphrases
- identify an illness: Simpler, less technical.
- determine the condition: More formal alternative.
- make a diagnosis: Noun form commonly used in medical texts.
Common mistakes
- The doctor diagnosed him with cancer. to The doctor diagnosed him as having cancer.. 'Diagnosed with' is correct; 'diagnosed him with' is also acceptable, but 'diagnosed as having' is more formal.
- He diagnosed himself. to He diagnosed his own condition.. 'Diagnosed himself' can be ambiguous; specify condition.
- Diagnose of the illness was difficult. to Diagnosis of the illness was difficult.. Use noun 'diagnosis' not verb 'diagnose'.