Meanings
adjectivepreclinical (comparative more preclinical, superlative most preclinical)
comparative more preclinical · superlative most preclinical
- medicineDescribing the period of a disease before any symptoms appear
- Describing a test or trial of a new pharmaceutical on animals (or in vitro) rather than on humans
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveof or relating to the early phases of a disease when accurate diagnosis is not possible because symptoms of the disease have not yet appeared
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*per-
- Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
- Proto-Italic*prai
- Proto-Italic*prai-
- Latinprae-
- Middle Englishpre-
- Englishpre-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱley-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱl̥néyti
- Proto-Hellenic*klíňňō
- Ancient Greekκλῑ́νω (klī́nō)
- Ancient Greekκλῑ́νη (klī́nē)
- Ancient Greekκλῑνῐκός (klīnĭkós)
- Late Latinclīnicus
- Frenchclinique
- Englishclinic
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishclinical
- Englishpreclinical
Cite this entry
APA
preclinical. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/preclinical
MLA
“preclinical.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/preclinical. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “preclinical,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/preclinical.
Source: preclinical on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.