diabetes

IPA/ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz/
KK[dˌaɪəbˈitiz]IPA/ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz/

diabetes — noun

1. A chronic illness that stops the body from keeping the sugar (glucose) in the bl

1.nounB2
Definition

A chronic illness that stops the body from keeping the sugar (glucose) in the blood at healthy levels, typically because the pancreas makes too little insulin or the body's cells stop responding to it properly.

Example

Meera's grandmother was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after her routine health check.

diagnosed with diabetes — common verb collocation

Regular exercise and a balanced diet help many people control their diabetes effectively.

control diabetes — common verb + noun pattern

Common collocations
  • diagnosed with diabetes
  • control / manage diabetes
  • develop diabetes
  • type 1 / type 2 diabetes
  • diabetes medication
  • diabetes diagnosis
  • diabetes treatment
  • have / suffer from diabetes
Synonyms
  • diabetes mellitus

    The full medical name for the common type of diabetes; more formal and used mainly in clinical or scientific contexts.

Grammar Patterns

have / develop / manage diabetes

Usage Note

Frequently used without an article (e.g. 'She has diabetes' not 'She has a diabetes'). Often modified by type 1 or type 2 to distinguish between the two main forms. Avoid using diabetic as a noun for a person (e.g. 'a diabetic') in formal writing, where 'a person with diabetes' is preferred.

Common Mistakes

My uncle is diabetes.
My uncle has diabetes.
diabetes is a condition you have, not a description of a person.
He has a diabetes since childhood.
He has had diabetes since childhood.
diabetes is uncountable and does not take an article.

2. A medical term for any of several conditions that affect how the body processes

2.nounC1
Definition

A medical term for any of several conditions that affect how the body processes fluids and nutrients, causing a person to produce very large amounts of urine and to feel constantly thirsty. The most common type is diabetes mellitus, but other types such as diabetes insipidus also exist.

Example

The school nurse noticed Lien was always thirsty and suspected a rare form of diabetes.

school nurse suspected rare diabetes — concrete detection scene

Doctors diagnosed Yuna with a rare diabetes that affects the kidneys, not the pancreas.

Common collocations
  • rare form of diabetes
  • type of diabetes
  • diabetes insipidus
  • diabetes cases
  • diagnosed with diabetes
Synonyms
  • diabetes insipidus

    A specific rare subtype within this sense, caused by hormone problems rather than insulin issues; often what medical texts refer to when distinguishing from diabetes mellitus.

  • polyuric disorder

    A broader term describing any condition with excessive urine output; more general than diabetes and not restricted to metabolic causes.

Usage Note

This broader medical sense is mostly used in clinical textbooks, research papers, and diagnostic contexts. In everyday conversation, diabetes almost always refers to sense 1 (diabetes mellitus). Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 includes conditions where blood sugar levels are normal but the kidneys fail to concentrate urine properly.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Diabetes (specifically diabetes mellitus) is the disease itself — a chronic condition where the body struggles to regulate blood sugar. Hyperglycemia refers to the symptom of high blood sugar that occurs in diabetes, but it can also happen temporarily in people without diabetes (e.g. after a large meal or during severe stress). Prediabetes is a warning stage where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis — many people with prediabetes can reverse it with lifestyle changes. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol) that together increase the risk of developing diabetes. For example, a doctor might tell a patient: 'Your blood test shows prediabetes, so let us work on preventing diabetes through diet and exercise.'

diabetes ↗hyperglycemia ↗prediabetesmetabolic syndrome

Common collocations

Nouns

  • diabetes diagnosis
  • diabetes management
  • diabetes medication
  • diabetes research
  • diabetes epidemic

Adverbs

  • newly diagnosed with diabetes
  • poorly controlled diabetes
  • well-managed diabetes
  • childhood-onset diabetes

Phrases

  • living with diabetes
  • risk factors for diabetes
  • family history of diabetes
  • complications of diabetes

Prepositions

  • diabetes in adults
  • treatment for diabetes
  • risk of diabetes
  • complications from diabetes

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

The word diabetes comes from the Greek word 'diabētēs' (διαβήτης), meaning 'a siphon' or 'something that passes through'. Ancient Greek physicians used this term because they noticed that people with the condition passed large amounts of urine, as if water were being siphoned through the body. The word entered Latin as 'diabetes' and later came into English through medical Latin in the 15th century. The fuller term 'diabetes mellitus' ('mellitus' meaning 'honey-sweet' in Latin) was added in the 17th century when doctors realised the urine of affected patients tasted sweet — indicating the presence of sugar.