underdetection en · NOUN
Pronunciation
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Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *-tér Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰi ? Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- Latin dētēctiōder. Latin dētēctiōnembor. English detection English underdetection From under- + detection.
Meanings
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(uncountable) Detection at excessively low levels, or at levels lower than are actually the case
"But this study says that in these very disadvantaged men, there is underdetection and undertreatment, that the cancers are not being found early enough."
2009 January 13, Nicholas Bakalar, “Prognosis: Left Behind in Prostate Cancer Screening”, in New York Times: