presymptomatic

adjective

pre·​symp·​tom·​at·​ic ˌprē-ˌsim(p)-tə-ˈma-tik How to pronounce presymptomatic (audio)
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 See all Example Sentences for presymptomatic 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of presymptomatic was in 1928

Dictionary Entries Near presymptomatic

Cite this Entry

“Presymptomatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/presymptomatic. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.

Medical Definition

presymptomatic

adjective
pre·​symp·​to·​mat·​ic -ˌsimp-tə-ˈmat-ik How to pronounce presymptomatic (audio)
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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