Meaning & use
prognosis
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablemedical
A medical judgment about how an illness or condition is likely to develop and what outcome is expected.
Grammar: Has plural prognoses; common with for: a good prognosis for recovery.
Patterns
- prognosis for something
- good/poor prognosis
- give/make a prognosis
- long-term prognosis
The doctor said the prognosis for recovery was excellent.
Because the tumor was found early, her prognosis was very good.
He asked for an honest prognosis rather than vague reassurance.
nouncountablefigurativeformal
A careful forecast of how a non-medical situation is likely to develop in the future.
Grammar: Used figuratively with for: the prognosis for the housing market.
Patterns
- prognosis for something
- economic/financial prognosis
- give a prognosis
The prognosis for the old factory is uncertain without new investment.
Economists offered a cautious prognosis for the coming year.
After the audit, the committee heard a gloomy prognosis for the budget.
Word forms
| plural | prognoses |
|---|
Common combinations
- medical prognosis
- The medical prognosis improved after the second treatment.
- good/excellent prognosis
- With rest and medicine, the child has an excellent prognosis.
- poor/guarded prognosis
- Doctors gave a guarded prognosis until the tests came back.
- prognosis for recovery
- The prognosis for recovery depends on early treatment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- outlook
- The broadest near-synonym for future expectations, less clinical than prognosis.
- forecast
- Used for weather, money, or events; medical forecast is possible but less idiomatic than prognosis.
- prediction
- A general statement about the future; prognosis implies expert judgment about likely development.
Word family
- prognose verb
- Rare verb meaning to make a medical or formal forecast.
- prognostic adjective
- Relating to prediction of likely development, especially in medicine.
- prognosticate verb
- Formal verb meaning to predict or forecast future events.
Commonly confused: prognosis or diagnosis? prognosis or projection?
prognosis vs diagnosis
A diagnosis identifies the current problem; a prognosis predicts how it will develop.
prognosis vs projection
A projection estimates numbers or trends, while a prognosis judges likely future course, often in health or formal analysis.
Practice
After surgery, the family asked the surgeon mainly for a ___.
Choose one answer.
After the condition has been identified and treated, the question is what happens next, so prognosis fits. Diagnosis names the problem; prescription and symptom are different parts of care.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prognosis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.