English Explanatory Dictionary

inoculate

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To introduce an antigenic substance or vaccine into something (e.g. the body) or someone, such as to produce immunity to a specific disease.
  2. To safeguard or protect something as if by inoculation.
  3. To add one substance to another.
  4. To graft by inserting buds.
  5. To introduce into the mind (used especially of harmful ideas or principles).
noun
  1. Synonym of inoculum.

Pronunciation

/ɪˈnɒkjuleɪt/ /ɪˈnɑːkjuleɪt/ en-au-inoculate.ogg /ɪˈnɒkjulɪt/ /ɪˈnɑːkjulɪt/

Word forms

inoculate inoculates inoculating inoculated innoculate

Etymology

First attested in c. 1440; inherited from Middle English inoculaten (“to graft”), from Latin inoculātus, perfect passive participle of inoculō (“to ingraft an eye or bud of one plant into (another), implant”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- (“in”) + oculus (“an eye”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).

Synonyms

immunize vaccinate vaccine spike imbue implant inoculum

Related words

inoculant inoculation inoculative inoculator inoculum immunize vaccinate

Derived words

agroinoculate agroinoculated autoinoculate coinoculate inoculable inoculee inoculent noninoculated preinoculate reinoculate subinoculate uninoculated
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on I Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary