symptom

1. (medicine) 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.Examples: "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.Examples: "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."figuratively