idiopathic
adjective
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Idiopathic joins the combining form idio- (from Greek idios, meaning "one's own" or "private") with -pathic, a form that suggests the effects of disease. The combining form idio- is typically found in technical terms. Examples include idiographic, meaning "relating to or dealing with something concrete, individual, or unique"; idiolect, meaning "the language or speech pattern of one individual at a particular period of life"; and idiotype, meaning "the molecular structure and conformation of an antibody that confers its antigenic specificity." A more common idio- word is idiosyncrasy, which most commonly refers to an unusual way in which a person behaves or thinks, or to an unusual part or feature of something.
Examples of idiopathic in a Sentence
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
24 June 2026
The company, which was founded in Boston and maintains offices in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, has multiple drugs in trials, including one targeting idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a condition where scar tissue forms in the lungs, that’s currently in the Phase II stage.
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Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
22 June 2026
Heart risks In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration required label changes on testosterone therapy that stated the safety and effectiveness had not been established for men who had signs and symptoms associated with idiopathic hypogonadism, a condition that involves low testosterone levels.
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Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
Scientists became interested in the connection between GLP-1 and migraine through studies on idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), a condition that causes pressure to build up around the brain.
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Sukhman Rekhi,
Verywell Health,
1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for idiopathic
Cite this Entry
“Idiopathic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiopathic. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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idiopathic
adjective
