underdiagnose

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verb

To diagnose something less often than it actually occurs.

Opposite
overdiagnose
OriginEnglish diagnose ← Latin diagnōsis ← Ancient Greek δῐᾰ́γνωσῐς (dĭắgnōsĭs) →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

verbunderdiagnose (third-person singular simple present underdiagnoses, present participle underdiagnosing, simple past and past participle underdiagnosed)

present singular third person underdiagnoses · participle present underdiagnosing · participle past underdiagnosed · past underdiagnosed

  1. medicineTo diagnose something less often than it actually occurs.

    Meanwhile, literature supports the possibility of underdiagnosing AC in the hospital setting; exponentially so when males generally have poor hospital-attending behavior.

    2015 July 3, David Ben Kumah et al., “Prevalence of allergic conjunctivitis among basic school children in the Kumasi Metropolis (Ghana): a community-based cross-sectional study”, in BMC Ophthalmology, volume 15, →DOI

    Antonyms: overdiagnose

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo diagnose something less often than it actually occurs.

Opposite
overdiagnose

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  13. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
  14. Proto-Indo-European*dwís
  15. Ancient Greekδιά (diá)
  16. Ancient Greekδια- (dia-)
  17. Proto-Indo-European*ǵneh₃-
  18. Proto-Indo-European*ǵn̥h₃sḱéti
  19. Proto-Hellenic*gignṓskō
  20. Ancient Greekγῐγνώσκω (gĭgnṓskō)
  21. Ancient Greekδῐαγῐγνώσκω (dĭagĭgnṓskō)
  22. Ancient Greekδῐᾰ́γνωσῐς (dĭắgnōsĭs)
  23. Latindiagnōsis
  24. Englishdiagnosisbf.
  25. Englishdiagnose
  26. Englishunderdiagnose

From under- + diagnose.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

underdiagnose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdiagnose

MLA

“underdiagnose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdiagnose. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underdiagnose,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underdiagnose.

Source: underdiagnose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.