Library / English Dictionary

DISEASE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("disease" is a kind of...):

illness; malady; sickness; unwellness (impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism)

Meronyms (parts of "disease"):

symptom ((medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease)

sign ((medicine) any objective evidence of the presence of a disorder or disease)

syndrome (a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disease"):

periodontal disease; periodontitis (a disease that attacks the gum and bone and around the teeth)

liver disease (a disease affecting the liver)

communicable disease (a disease that can be communicated from one person to another)

exanthema subitum; pseudorubella; roseola infantilis; roseola infantum (a viral disease of infants and young children; characterized by abrupt high fever and mild sore throat; a few days later there is a faint pinkish rash that lasts for a few hours to a few days)

respiratory disease; respiratory disorder; respiratory illness (a disease affecting the respiratory system)

congenital disease; genetic abnormality; genetic defect; genetic disease; genetic disorder; hereditary condition; hereditary disease; inherited disease; inherited disorder (a disease or disorder that is inherited genetically)

inflammatory disease (a disease characterized by inflammation)

autoimmune disease; autoimmune disorder (any of a large group of diseases characterized by abnormal functioning of the immune system that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against your own tissues)

deficiency disease (any disease caused by a lack of an essential nutrient (as a vitamin or mineral))

cystic breast disease; cystic mastitis; fibrocystic breast disease; fibrocystic disease of the breast (the presence of one or more cysts in a breast)

goiter; goitre; struma; thyromegaly (abnormally enlarged thyroid gland; can result from underproduction or overproduction of hormone or from a deficiency of iodine in the diet)

pappataci fever; phlebotomus; sandfly fever (a mild viral disease transmitted by the bite of the sand fly Phlebotomus papatasii)

disease of the skin; skin disease; skin disorder (a disease affecting the skin)

malignance; malignancy ((medicine) a malignant state; progressive and resistant to treatment and tending to cause death)

eye disease (any disease of the eye)

animal disease (a disease that typically does not affect human beings)

plant disease (a disease that affects plants)

ozaena; ozena (a chronic disease of the nose characterized by a foul-smelling nasal discharge and atrophy of nasal structures)

filariasis (a disease caused by nematodes in the blood or tissues of the body causing blockage of lymphatic vessels)

disease of the neuromuscular junction (a disease characterized by impairment of neuromuscular junctions)

aspergillosis (disease especially in agricultural workers caused by inhalation of Aspergillus spores causing lumps in skin and ears and respiratory organs)

anthrax (a disease of humans that is not communicable; caused by infection with Bacillus anthracis followed by septicemia)

blackwater (any of several human or animal diseases characterized by dark urine resulting from rapid breakdown of red blood cells)

cat scratch disease (a disease thought to be transmitted to humans by a scratch from a cat)

complication (any disease or disorder that occurs during the course of (or because of) another disease)

crud (an ill-defined bodily ailment)

endemic; endemic disease (a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location)

enteropathy (a disease of the intestinal tract)

incompetence (inability of a part or organ to function properly)

Kawasaki disease; mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome (an acute disease of young children characterized by a rash and swollen lymph nodes and fever; of unknown cause)

pycnosis; pyknosis (a degenerative state of the cell nucleus)

boutonneuse fever; Indian tick fever; Kenya fever; Marseilles fever (a disease (common in India and around the Mediterranean area) caused by a rickettsia that is transmitted to humans by a reddish brown tick (ixodid) that lives on dogs and other mammals)

Meniere's disease (a disease of the inner ear characterized by episodes of dizziness and tinnitus and progressive hearing loss (usually unilateral))

milk sickness (caused by consuming milk from cattle suffering from trembles)

mimesis (any disease that shows symptoms characteristic of another disease)

industrial disease; occupational disease (disease or disability resulting from conditions of employment (usually from long exposure to a noxious substance or from continuous repetition of certain acts))

onychosis (any disease or disorder of the nails)

rheumatism (any painful disorder of the joints or muscles or connective tissues)

periarteritis nodosa; polyarteritis nodosa (a progressive disease of connective tissue that is characterized by nodules along arteries; nodules may block the artery and result in inadequate circulation to the particular area)

Credits

 Context examples: 

"If you have," continued the Tin Woodman, "you ought to be glad, for it proves you have a heart. For my part, I have no heart; so I cannot have heart disease."

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Past research suggests that omega-3s may help protect against heart disease.

(Omega-3s linked with lower risk of fatal heart attacks, NIH)

But the links between insomnia and heart disease or stroke have been inconsistent.

(Insomnia: Heart Attack, Stroke Risk, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

X-rays may be used to help diagnose disease.

(Abdominal Radiography, NCI Dictionary)

An abnormal human cell type which can occur in either disease states or disease models.

(Abnormal Cell, NCI Thesaurus)

It includes the economic and financial impact of disease in general on the patient, the physician, society, or government.

(Medical Economics, NCI Thesaurus)

Oriental medicine aims to restore the body's balance and harmony between the natural opposing forces of yin and yang, which can block qi and cause disease.

(Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, NCI Dictionary)

EXAMPLE(S): routine requirement, drug reaction, infectious disease reporting requirement, on patient request

(Activity Reason Code, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)

The study of insects as they relate to human disease.

(Medical Entomology, NCI Thesaurus)

Is it ethical to harvest embryonic stem cells to treat diseases?

(Medical Ethics, NIH)