syndrome

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noun syn·drome \ˈsin-ˌdrōm also -drəm\

Definition of syndrome

1 : 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

See syndrome defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of syndrome from the Web

Ross has been recovering from October surgery to correct issues caused by thoracic outlet syndrome.

— stefan stevenson, star-telegram, "Tyson Ross likely to join Rangers’ rotation against Nationals in DC", 3 June 2017
Those who have other health conditions including gastroparesis, irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux may feel better by eating small meals spaced three or four hours apart.

— lisa drayer, CNN, "Should you eat three big meals or many mini-meals?", 2 June 2017
The youngest member of their crew, 2-year-old Tilly Melendi, who also has PURA syndrome, eyed the boys suspiciously for a while, then relaxed and showed off her crawling and clapping skills.

— nara schoenberg, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago families of kids with rare genetic disorder find support in each other", 1 June 2017
The Mets have done their best to support Harvey during his return from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last summer.

— james wagner, New York Times, "Mets’ Matt Harvey Shows Mettle in Beating the Pirates", 29 May 2017
The Q and A also describes how suramin could be useful for those with genetic conditions that produce autism-like symptoms, such as Fragile X and Angelman syndromes.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Autism therapy's bottleneck", 28 May 2017
Her mother has Lynch syndrome, a hereditary disorder that sharply raises the risk of certain cancers, and since 2003, Priscilla Joho has suffered colon cancer, uterine cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.

— laurie mcginley, Washington Post, "‘This is not the end’: Experimental therapy that targets genes gives cancer patients hope", 28 May 2017
Pincus says that all of Jane's seemingly odd behavior -- like lying to everyone including the police -- is actually a classic symptom of battered woman syndrome.

— erin moriarty, CBS News, "Death of an Olympian", 27 May 2017
Because of the condition, she was diagnosed with short bowel syndrome.

— kaitlyn schwers, kansascity, "6-year-old girl with birth defect takes to the dance floor with determination, joy", 26 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'syndrome'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.