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Glite Dictionary
idiopathy

idiopathy

1 9.9
A disease with no known cause
  • noun
  • /ˌɪdiˈɒpəθi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : idiopatía
  • The doctor diagnosed her with an idiopathy after numerous tests.

Examples

  • The doctor explained that her symptoms were likely due to idiopathy, meaning the cause was unknown.

  • Many idiopathies remain a mystery to medical professionals.

  • Researchers are still investigating the origins of this rare cardiac idiopathy.

  • Some cases of epilepsy remain an idiopathy despite extensive testing.

  • The cause of the patient's symptoms was determined to be an idiopathy after all other possibilities were excluded.

  • After numerous tests, the specialist diagnosed him with idiopathy, as there was no identifiable trigger for his condition.

  • The researchers focused on cases of idiopathy where patients exhibited symptoms without a clear origin.

Synonyms

idiopathic disease
vsidiopathy
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A sickness that has no known cause

is broader and arises spontaneously or from an obscure unknown cause
idiopathic disorder
vsidiopathy
  • Specialized
8.4

A health problem with no known cause

focuses on spontaneous or obscure origins rather than internal dysfunction
functional disorder
vsidiopathy
  • Specialized
6.4

A condition that causes real symptoms without a clear physical cause

means unknown origin in general rather than only lacking structural findings

Surface Forms

idiopathy singular
idiopathies plural

Morphology

idiopathy = idiopathic (opaque) = idio + pathy

The word is formed from Greek combining forms (idio- + -pathy) that are not productive standalone English words, and the medical sense is specialised rather than derivable by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Idiopathy comes from the parts idio- meaning 'own' or 'private' and -pathy meaning 'disease', and you can see -pathy in words like sympathy. So an idiopathy is a disease that seems to come from its own source, which means a condition with no known cause.