differential diagnosis
noun
: the distinguishing of a disease or condition from others presenting with similar signs and symptoms
Examples of differential diagnosis in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
More notably, o1 performed as well or better than two Harvard internists in generating differential diagnoses based on EHR data for 76 real-world emergency cases.
—
Spencer Dorn, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
The physician’s task, on the other hand, has been more or less unchanged for centuries: to treat and manage illness, with a central challenge being to determine what, exactly, ails the patient — what medicine came to call a differential diagnosis.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2026
For a meaningful share of cognitive work in primary care, like reviewing records, taking histories, generating differential diagnoses, managing chronic disease, autonomous AI can already deliver clinically adequate care.
—Alon Bergman, STAT, 11 May 2026
Prior generations of large language models faltered when dealing with uncertainty, and in generating a list of possible conditions to check up, what's known as a differential diagnosis.
—Will Stone, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
The physician’s assistant who saw Alejandro wrote in his records that his differential diagnosis included pulmonary embolism and acute coronary syndrome and made an appointment for him with Mansoor, the lawsuit says.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 19 Mar. 2026
The differential diagnosis includes bacterial folliculitis, an infection of the hair follicles caused by Staphylococcus aureus.71
Milder cases of tinea barbae appear similar to the following diseases that cause comparable symptoms.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 15 Aug. 2024
Later that night, they were told that their MRI was canceled as doctors would be doing a differential diagnosis instead.
—Georgia Slater, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2023
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Spencer Dorn, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
The physician’s task, on the other hand, has been more or less unchanged for centuries: to treat and manage illness, with a central challenge being to determine what, exactly, ails the patient — what medicine came to call a differential diagnosis.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2026
For a meaningful share of cognitive work in primary care, like reviewing records, taking histories, generating differential diagnoses, managing chronic disease, autonomous AI can already deliver clinically adequate care.
—Alon Bergman, STAT, 11 May 2026
Prior generations of large language models faltered when dealing with uncertainty, and in generating a list of possible conditions to check up, what's known as a differential diagnosis.
—Will Stone, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
The physician’s assistant who saw Alejandro wrote in his records that his differential diagnosis included pulmonary embolism and acute coronary syndrome and made an appointment for him with Mansoor, the lawsuit says.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 19 Mar. 2026
The differential diagnosis includes bacterial folliculitis, an infection of the hair follicles caused by Staphylococcus aureus.71
Milder cases of tinea barbae appear similar to the following diseases that cause comparable symptoms.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 15 Aug. 2024
Later that night, they were told that their MRI was canceled as doctors would be doing a differential diagnosis instead.
—Georgia Slater, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Differential diagnosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/differential%20diagnosis. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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