adenovirus

noun

ad·​e·​no·​vi·​rus ˌa-də-nō-ˈvī-rəs How to pronounce adenovirus (audio)
: any of a family (Adenoviridae) of double-stranded DNA viruses originally identified in human adenoid tissue, causing infections of the respiratory system, conjunctiva, and gastrointestinal tract, and including some capable of inducing malignant tumors in experimental animals
adenoviral adjective

Examples of adenovirus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Chinese government simultaneously pushed several technological approaches, including inactivated vaccines, mRNA vaccines, and adenovirus vector vaccines. Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 11 Mar. 2021 If confirmed, the new findings would be the oldest human viruses ever recovered, setting a record previously held by a 31,000-year-old adenovirus, reports New Scientist’s James Woodford. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 May 2024 In a paper posted to the preprint site bioRxiv, the researchers detected fragments of adenovirus (which causes cold-like illnesses), herpesvirus (linked to cold sores) and papillomavirus (HPV) in Neanderthal genome data. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 May 2024 Read More: How COVID-19 Vaccines and Infections Are Tweaking Our Immunity An extremely similar deleterious antibody response occurs in susceptible patients after infection with adenoviruses, which often infect the airways and lead to cold-like symptoms, the study found. Jason Gale / Bloomberg, TIME, 16 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for adenovirus 

Word History

Etymology

aden(oid) entry 2 + -o- + virus

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of adenovirus was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near adenovirus

Cite this Entry

“Adenovirus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adenovirus. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

adenovirus

noun
ad·​e·​no·​vi·​rus ˌad-ᵊn-ō-ˈvī-rəs How to pronounce adenovirus (audio)
: any of the family Adenoviridae of double-stranded DNA viruses
adenoviral adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on adenovirus

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!