adj. 1. Of, relating to, or used in a diagnosis. 2. Serving to identify a particular disease; characteristic. n. 1. often diagnostics (used with a sing. verb) The art or practice of medical diagnosis. 2. A symptom or a distinguishing feature serving as supporting evidence in a diagnosis. 3. An instrument or technique used in medical diagnosis. [Greek diagnōstikos, able to distinguish, from diagnōstos, distinguished, from diagignōskein, to distinguish; see DIAGNOSIS.] di′ag·nosti·cal·ly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.