diagnostic

comparative more diagnostic · superlative most diagnostic · alternative obsolete diagnostick

1. Of, or relating to diagnosis.
2. medicineCharacteristic of a particular disease.
3. Serving to indicate or specify a particular item or thing within a group of similar things.

   1 more example

   Each language has its own distinct phonological qualities which a counter can tap into with effect. It is not necessarily specific phonemes (though these can sometimes be diagnostic), but rather the frequency and phonotactic distribution of each disparate set of phonemes that go together in the speech stream in certain recognisable ways.

   2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, volume 41, number 7, →DOI, →ISSN, page 10

4. educationIntended to assess a student's preexisting knowledge on the material being taught.

   A diagnostic assessment

5. biologyCharacteristic of a particular taxon or clade.

plural diagnostics · alternative obsolete diagnostick

1. Any technique used in medical diagnosis.
2. computingAny tool or technique used to find the root of a problem.
3. That by which anything is known; a symptom.