syndrome
noun
Did you know?
Combining its two Greek roots, syndrome means basically "running together". So when diagnosing a condition or disease, doctors tend to look for a group of symptoms existing together. As long as a set of symptoms remains mysterious, it may be referred to as a specific syndrome. But if that name is used for a while, it may become the condition's permanent name, even after an underlying cause has been found. So today we have Down syndrome, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Asperger's syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, Tourette's syndrome, sick building syndrome, and many more. And since mental conditions often turn out to have physical causes, syndrome is used in psychology as well as in medicine.
Examples of syndrome in a Sentence
Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 8 Mar. 2025
Betsy died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease transmitted from animals to humans that commonly found in rodents, the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed.
—Tracy Wright, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2025
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome does not spread from person to person.
—Dalia Faheid, CNN, 8 Mar. 2025
There is no current specific treatment to cure hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
—Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Syndrome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/syndrome. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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syndrome
noun
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