What does diagnose mean?

[Olla]

English Language Proficiency Tests, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #27 "At the Doctors", question 1

As soon as the doctor looked at her, he was able to ......... the cause of her frequent headaches.

(a) decide
(b) diagnose
(c) define
(d) describe

English Language Proficiency Tests, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #27 "At the Doctors", answer 1

As soon as the doctor looked at her, he was able to diagnose the cause of her frequent headaches.

Correct answer: (b) diagnose
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please explain to me!!!

Olla

[Mister Micawber]

.
Diagnosis is what doctors do.
.
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Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[Alan]

Hi,

I assume you want to know the meaning of 'diagnose'. Putting it simply it suggests the you are identifying/finding the cause of of a problem. As you can see from the test sentence it is often used in a medical sense. It can also be used in a general sense, too as in:

The mechanic soon diagnosed the fault in the car engine.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Everything in the Garden is lovely