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Glite Dictionary
medical prognosis

medical prognosis

4.3
A doctor's prediction of how a disease will develop and if someone will recover
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛdɪkəl prɒɡˈnoʊsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pronóstico médico
  • After the tests, the medical prognosis revealed that the disease was manageable with treatment.

Examples

  • Because of recent advances in treatment, her medical prognosis improved significantly.

  • The doctor's medical prognosis indicated that the patient would likely recover within a few months.

  • After several tests, the specialist explained the medical prognosis to the patient's family.

  • The doctor gave a medical prognosis that suggested a full recovery within six months.

  • The doctor gave a medical prognosis.

  • Is the medical prognosis improving?

  • Given her medical prognosis, the team discussed the best options for her ongoing care.

Synonyms

prospect
vsmedical prognosis
425 3.3

A chance that something will happen in the future

is a professional forecast about disease outcome not just a chance
prediction
vsmedical prognosis
375 2.6

A guess about what will happen in the future based on facts or signs

is specific to medicine and given by a medical expert
prognosis
vsmedical prognosis
55 7.2

A prediction of how a disease or situation will turn out

is an expert medical prediction focused on illness outcomes
prognostication
vsmedical prognosis
8 9.3

A statement about what will happen in the future

is based on expert medical judgment rather than signs or supernatural methods

Surface Forms

medical prognosis singular
medical prognoses plural

Morphology

medical + prognosis

The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'medical' (relating to medicine) modifies 'prognosis' (a prediction about an illness), so the combined meaning — an expert prediction about a disease outcome — follows immediately from the constituents. This modifier + noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and therefore readily understandable to learners who already know both words.

Etymology

Medical prognosis comes from the idea of a doctor acting like a weather forecaster, using tests and experience to guess what will happen next with an illness. The medical part points to the doctor and prognosis means a 'prediction', so a medical prognosis is a doctor's 'prediction' of the likely course or outcome.