diagnosis

The word “diagnosis” means the identification of a disease or medical condition through examination. In plain terms, the conclusion a doctor (or anyone investigating a problem) reaches about what's actually wrong.

“Diagnosis” is pronounced deye-uhg-NOH-sihs (/daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ in IPA).

Here is “diagnosis” used in a sentence: “The diagnosis confirmed what the family had feared for months.”

“Diagnosis” is a noun.

The word “diagnosis” comes from Greek. From Greek diagnosis, from diagignoskein ("to discern"), from dia- ("through") + gignoskein ("to know").

“Diagnosis” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Diagnosis” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the identification of a disease or medical condition through examination.

A diagnosis identifies what disease or condition a patient has, based on examination. A prognosis predicts how that condition is likely to develop and what the outcome may be. In short, diagnosis is about the present problem, prognosis about its future course.

The plural is "diagnoses." The singular diagnosis refers to one identification of a disease or problem, while diagnoses refers to two or more, following the same pattern as crisis/crises and basis/bases.

A symptom is a sign of illness that a patient notices or shows, such as pain or fever. A diagnosis is the conclusion a professional reaches by examining those symptoms to identify the underlying condition. Symptoms are the clues; the diagnosis is the answer.

Yes. Besides identifying a disease, diagnosis can mean identifying the cause of any problem, for example a mechanic's diagnosis of a fault in a car. In this sense it means pinpointing what is wrong and why.