presymptomatic
adjective
pre·symp·tom·at·ic
ˌprē-ˌsim(p)-tə-ˈma-tik 
variants
or pre-symptomatic
1
: relating to, being, or occurring before symptoms appear
presymptomatic testing
presymptomatic heart disease
pre-symptomatic transmission of a contagious disease
2
: not yet displaying symptoms of an illness or disease
a presymptomatic patient diagnosed with Huntington's disease
viral illness spread by pre-symptomatic individuals
Examples of presymptomatic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Such testing would have been critical for identifying staff with asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections.
—
Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2021
Such tests are already being used in identifying candidates for clinical trials testing treatments in patients with early-stage or even presymptomatic disease, such as Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi.
—Fox News, 12 Feb. 2024
In addition, rapid tests generally have low detection sensitivity for low viral load samples, which might miss presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 during the incubation phase.3
How to Take At-home COVID Tests the Right Way
Can Rapid Tests Go Bad?
—Carla Delgado, Verywell Health, 31 Aug. 2023
Those results indicate that plane wastewater sampling could pick up on asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections that might get missed by Covid tests, in addition to detecting other viruses or bacteria.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 21 Jan. 2023
Although children spread the illness through presymptomatic or asymptomatic transmission, they are not included in the current COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.
—Julie Washington, cleveland, 27 Apr. 2021
Kerkhove reiterated some of her points in Tuesday’s clarification video, including that some presymptomatic cases may have been misidentified as asymptomatic.
—Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 10 June 2020
University of Chicago researchers used a mathematical model to determine that about 50% of community transmission in New York City during the early stages of the pandemic was from asymptomatic and presymptomatic cases.
—Rick Rouan, USA TODAY, 24 June 2021
Using jargon is typical of the World Health Organization, as illustrated by a press conference where Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, made an unnecessary distinction between asymptomatic and presymptomatic transmission that many people found confusing.
—Jv Chamary, Forbes, 31 May 2021
Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2021
Such tests are already being used in identifying candidates for clinical trials testing treatments in patients with early-stage or even presymptomatic disease, such as Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi.
—Fox News, 12 Feb. 2024
In addition, rapid tests generally have low detection sensitivity for low viral load samples, which might miss presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 during the incubation phase.3
How to Take At-home COVID Tests the Right Way
Can Rapid Tests Go Bad?
—Carla Delgado, Verywell Health, 31 Aug. 2023
Those results indicate that plane wastewater sampling could pick up on asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections that might get missed by Covid tests, in addition to detecting other viruses or bacteria.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 21 Jan. 2023
Although children spread the illness through presymptomatic or asymptomatic transmission, they are not included in the current COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.
—Julie Washington, cleveland, 27 Apr. 2021
Kerkhove reiterated some of her points in Tuesday’s clarification video, including that some presymptomatic cases may have been misidentified as asymptomatic.
—Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 10 June 2020
University of Chicago researchers used a mathematical model to determine that about 50% of community transmission in New York City during the early stages of the pandemic was from asymptomatic and presymptomatic cases.
—Rick Rouan, USA TODAY, 24 June 2021
Using jargon is typical of the World Health Organization, as illustrated by a press conference where Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, made an unnecessary distinction between asymptomatic and presymptomatic transmission that many people found confusing.
—Jv Chamary, Forbes, 31 May 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'presymptomatic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Presymptomatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/presymptomatic. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Medical Definition
presymptomatic
adjective
pre·symp·to·mat·ic
-ˌsimp-tə-ˈmat-ik
variants
or pre-symptomatic
1
: relating to, being, or occurring before symptoms appear
presymptomatic testing
presymptomatic heart disease
pre-symptomatic transmission of a contagious disease
2
: not yet displaying symptoms of an illness or disease
a presymptomatic patient diagnosed with Huntington's disease
viral illness spread by pre-symptomatic individuals
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