| Noun | 1. | adult-onset diabetes - mild form of diabetes mellitus that develops gradually in adults; can be precipitated by obesity or severe stress or menopause or other factors; can usually be controlled by diet and hypoglycemic agents without injections of insulinadult-onset diabetes mellitus, ketoacidosis-resistant diabetes, ketoacidosis-resistant diabetes mellitus, ketosis-resistant diabetes, ketosis-resistant diabetes mellitus, mature-onset diabetes, maturity-onset diabetes, maturity-onset diabetes mellitus, NIDDM, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, type II diabetes diabetes mellitus, DM - diabetes caused by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin and characterized by polyuria; "when doctors say `diabetes' they usually mean `diabetes mellitus'" | |