antihormone

noun

an·​ti·​hor·​mone ˌan-tē-ˈhȯr-ˌmōn 

ˌan-tī-

: a substance (such as tamoxifen) that blocks the action or inhibits the production of a hormone

Word History

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

antihormone

1 of 2 noun

an·​ti·​hor·​mone

-ˈhȯr-ˌmōn

1

: a substance (as tamoxifen) that blocks the action or inhibits the production of a hormone

… a group of naturally occurring plant chemicals that weakly mimic the effects of estrogen hormones in some parts of the body while acting like antihormones in others.

—Christine Gorman, Time

2

dated : a fraction of blood globulin that is capable of rendering ineffective a protein-containing heterologous hormone when the latter is administered over a period of time and that is now generally considered to be a true antibody formed in response to the presence of foreign protein

Although subsequent work disproved the idea that antihormones played any physiological role in the control of endocrine organs, these experiments excited wide interest at the time and raised the question of species-specificity of protein hormones in therapeutic procedures.

—R. L. Noble, The Canadian Medical Association Journal

antihormone

2 of 2 adjective

variants also anti-hormone

: of, relating to, or using antihormones : antihormonal

antihormone treatment