symptom

noun

1. A perceived change in some function, sensation or appearance of a person that indicates a disease or disorder, such as fever, headache or rash; strictly, a symptom is felt or experienced by the patient, while a sign can be detected by an observer.

   “The doctor told that his coughing and sneezing was the symptom of standing for too long in the rain.”

   “Swollen breasts, morning sickness, and a missed period are classic symptoms of pregnancy.”

2. (figuratively)A signal; anything that indicates, or is characteristic of, the presence of something else, especially of something undesirable.

   “Lying, hiding one's true feelings, and having affairs are typical symptoms of a doomed marriage.”

   “"Nay, nay," exclaimed Lord Norbourne, "I cannot go quite so far as that. I have, thanks to your hospitality, laid in a stock of health enough for the ensuing winter: but as to the general benevolence of which you talk, I confess I find no symptoms: if I did, they would alarm me more than those of the gout."”

   “Some people see birth outside of marriage as a social problem—a sign of a breakdown in the traditional family and a symptom of moral decay.”