: a group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality or condition
2
: a set of concurrent things (such as emotions or actions) that usually form an identifiable pattern
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.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebWhite-nose syndrome has caused some bat populations in Connecticut to decline by over 90 percent. Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Sep. 2022 Lewis Capaldi has shared the news of his Tourette syndrome diagnosis, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary and repetitive movements and sounds. Thania Garcia, Variety, 8 Sep. 2022 Males are three to fours times more likely to develop Tourette syndrome. Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2022 Imposter syndrome and second-guessing yourself at work is all too common as a woman, and often even more so as a woman of colour. Alicia Vrajlal, refinery29.com, 6 Sep. 2022 Katherine Heigl is feeling the beginnings of empty nest syndrome in the midst of back-to-school season. Adrianna Freedman, Good Housekeeping, 6 Sep. 2022 After the event, medical therapy (aspirin, beta blockers and a statin at a minimum, on top of lifestyle modification) can drastically reduce the risk of another acute coronary syndrome. Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 31 Aug. 2022 But the emergence of a Trump-prosecution syndrome is also something to guard against. David Rohde, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2022 The girl has autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome and other disabilities, according to the lawsuit. Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 25 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Greek syndromē combination, syndrome, from syn- + dramein to run — more at dromedary
ADJECTIVE | VERB + SYNDROME | SYNDROME + VERBADJECTIVE➤acute急性綜合症▸➤clinical臨牀綜合症狀➤Asperger's, chronic fatigue, etc.阿斯波哥爾、慢性疲勞等綜合症VERB + SYNDROME➤have, suffer from有綜合症;患有綜合症▸➤develop得了綜合症▸➤cause, produce導致/產生綜合症▸➤diagnose, recognize診斷/識別綜合症▸➤treat治療綜合症▸➤be known as被稱作⋯綜合症◇This phenomenon has become known as the 'Californian syndrome'.這種症狀已被稱為“加利福尼亞綜合症”。SYNDROME + VERB➤affect sb, be present in sb, occur綜合症侵襲某人;綜合症出現在某人身上;綜合症出現◇This syndrome mostly affects women in their forties.這種綜合症多出現在四十多歲的女性身上。➤be characterized by綜合症有⋯特點◇Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by severe physical and mental fatigue.慢性疲勞綜合症的特點是極度的身體和精神疲勞。