diagnose

diagnose — verb

1. to discover which illness a person has by examining their symptoms and the resul

1.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

to discover which illness a person has by examining their symptoms and the results of medical tests

例句

Caio's lung condition was diagnosed early, so treatment began before any serious damage occurred.

passive: be diagnosed early

Samir's doctor diagnosed him with a bacterial infection after examining the wound on his leg.

diagnose + person + with + condition

同義詞
  • identify

    broader term; can be used outside medicine (identify a problem)

  • detect

    focuses on noticing the presence of something, not necessarily naming it precisely

  • pinpoint

    more informal, emphasises finding the exact problem with precision

反義詞

文法句型

diagnose + [condition]

diagnose + [person] + with + [condition]

be diagnosed + with + [condition]

用法筆記

Frequently used in the passive voice. The subject can be the person (He was diagnosed with cancer), the condition (The disease was diagnosed early), or the medical test (The scan diagnosed a fracture). When naming the person, use the pattern 'diagnose + person + with + condition'.

常見錯誤

❌The doctor diagnosed the patient a cold.
✅The doctor diagnosed the patient with a cold.
💡After the person's name, use 'with' before the condition, not two direct objects.
❌The doctor diagnosed that he has cancer.
✅The doctor diagnosed him with cancer.
💡'Diagnose' typically does not take a 'that'-clause; use 'diagnose + person + with + condition' instead.

2. to find out what is causing something to go wrong in a system, machine, or plan

2.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

to find out what is causing something to go wrong in a system, machine, or plan by looking at the situation carefully

例句

The IT team diagnosed the network failure as a server cooling problem.

diagnose + noun + as + [cause]

Apinya's father stayed up late trying to diagnose why the old car would not start.

同義詞
  • determine

    more formal; emphasises reaching a conclusion after investigation

  • troubleshoot

    specifically used for problems in machines, electronics, or software

  • pinpoint

    more informal; suggests very precise identification of the cause

文法句型

diagnose + [problem] + as + [cause]

diagnose + [problem / fault]

diagnose + why + [clause]

用法筆記

Common in technical, business, and engineering contexts. Unlike sense 1, this sense does NOT refer to human illness — the object is a problem, fault, or failure. Often followed by 'as' to state the identified cause.

常見錯誤

❌I diagnosed the broken computer.
✅I diagnosed the problem with the computer.
💡'Diagnose' a problem or fault, not the object itself.
❌She diagnosed that the system is too slow.
✅She diagnosed the cause of the slow system.
💡Avoid 'that'-clauses with 'diagnose'; use a noun phrase instead.