prognosis
noun
Did you know?
Prognosis Is Not Just a Medical Term
With its prefix pro-, meaning "before", prognosis means basically "knowledge beforehand" of how a situation is likely to turn out. Prognosis was originally a strictly medical term, but it soon broadened to include predictions made by experts of all kinds. Thus, for example, economists are constantly offering prognoses (notice the irregular plural form) about where the economy is going, and climate scientists regularly prognosticate about how quickly the earth's atmosphere is warming.
Examples of prognosis in a Sentence
Tom Burrows, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Everybody hung on every word of her prognosis for Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
—Cameron Crowe, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Gradually, though, the prognosis darkened.
—Nicholas Thompson, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2025
The prognosis for John Middleton isn’t good.
—Erika Edwards, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prognosis
Cite this Entry
“Prognosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prognosis. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prognosis
noun
Medical Definition
prognosis
noun
P. A. Mead et al.
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