Meaning & use
idiopathic condition
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedical
A disease or health problem that has no known cause.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an idiopathic condition' or 'idiopathic conditions'.
Patterns
- an idiopathic condition
- idiopathic conditions
She was diagnosed with an idiopathic condition that causes chronic pain.
Many idiopathic conditions are managed with medication rather than cured.
The doctor explained that his heart problem was an idiopathic condition, meaning the cause was unknown.
Word forms
| plural | idiopathic conditions |
|---|
Common combinations
- idiopathic condition
- The specialist diagnosed him with an idiopathic condition.
- idiopathic disease
- Idiopathic diseases are challenging because there is no clear cause to treat.
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a specific type of lung disease.
- idiopathic condition of unknown cause
- The report described it as an idiopathic condition of unknown cause.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cryptogenic
- Cryptogenic is a more technical synonym often used for diseases of unknown origin, especially infections; idiopathic is more general.
- essential
- In medicine, 'essential' can mean having no known cause (e.g., essential hypertension), but is less clear to learners.
Opposites
Word family
- idiopathy noun
- A disease of unknown cause.
- idiopathic adjective
- Describing a condition with no known cause.
Commonly confused: idiopathic condition or idiot? idiopathic condition or ideopathic?
idiopathic condition vs idiot
Idiot is an insult for a stupid person; idiopathic is a medical term meaning 'of unknown cause'. They look similar but are unrelated.
idiopathic condition vs ideopathic
A common misspelling; the correct spelling is idiopathic.
Practice
What does 'idiopathic' mean in a medical context?
Choose one answer.
Idiopathic means the cause is unknown. It does not mean psychological or rare, though some idiopathic conditions are rare.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “idiopathic condition”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.