Meaning & use
misdiagnosed
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“misdiagnosed” is a form of “misdiagnose”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitive
Wrongly identified an illness or condition; gave an incorrect diagnosis for a patient or problem.
Grammar: Takes an object: misdiagnosed the illness. Often used in the passive: was misdiagnosed with asthma.
Patterns
- misdiagnose something
- misdiagnose someone with something
- be misdiagnosed as something
The doctor misdiagnosed her chest pain as a muscle strain.
He was misdiagnosed with a cold, but it was actually pneumonia.
If a condition is misdiagnosed, the real problem may get worse.
Word forms
| third person singular | misdiagnoses |
|---|---|
| past tense | misdiagnosed |
| past participle | misdiagnosed |
| -ing form | misdiagnosing |
Common combinations
- misdiagnosed with
- She was misdiagnosed with anxiety for years before doctors found the real cause.
- misdiagnosed as
- The infection was misdiagnosed as a simple allergy.
- commonly misdiagnosed
- This rare disease is commonly misdiagnosed in young children.
- misdiagnosed condition
- A misdiagnosed condition can lead to unnecessary treatment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- misread
- Used for signs or situations, not usually for medical conditions; 'misread the symptoms' is possible but less specific than 'misdiagnosed'.
- mistook
- Means identified wrongly in a general way; 'misdiagnosed' is the technical medical term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: misdiagnosed or diagnosed?
misdiagnosed vs diagnosed
Means the illness was correctly identified. 'Misdiagnosed' adds the prefix 'mis-' meaning wrongly.
Practice
The patient was _____ with the flu, but later tests showed it was COVID-19.
Choose one answer.
The context shows the first diagnosis was wrong, so 'misdiagnosed' is correct. 'Diagnosed' would mean the flu was correct, which contradicts the later tests.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “misdiagnosed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.