symptomnoun [ C ]
uk/ˈsɪmp.təm/us/ˈsɪmp.təm/B2 any feeling of illness or physical or mental change that is caused by a particular disease:
He's complaining of all the usual flu symptoms - a high temperature, headache, and so on.
He's been HIV-positive for six years, but just recently he's started to develop the symptoms of AIDS.
C2 any single problem that is caused by and shows a more serious and general problem:
It's her feeling that the recent outbreaks of violence are a symptom of the dissatisfaction that is currently affecting our society.
More examples
- He had all the classic symptoms of the disease.
- If the symptoms get worse, consult your doctor.
- Tiredness, loss of appetite and sleeping problems are all classic symptoms of depression.
- They claim it is a symptom of a deeper and more general malaise in society.
- The first symptom of the disease is a very high temperature.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Medical treatment: symptoms & diagnosis of medical problems
- aerophobia
- amyloid
- asymptomatic
- blood count
- confirmatory
- contraindicated
- contraindication
- CT scan
- diagnose
- diagnosis
- diagnostic
- lacunar
- laparoscopic
- laparoscopy
- prognosis
- prognostic
- prognosticate
- prognostication
- side effect
- vital signs
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Typifying, illustrating and exemplifying