immunize
verb
im·mu·nize
ˈi-myə-ˌnīz 
immunized; immunizing; immunizes
: to make (someone or something) immune to something : to provide with protection against or immunity from something
… the investigation has been slowed by the refusal of seven former and current Hughes officials to cooperate unless immunized from prosecution.—
Andy Pasztor and Rick Wartzman
Andy Pasztor and Rick WartzmanBudding novelists immunize themselves against rejection by recalling rebuffs endured by even the most successful novelists …—Edwin McDowell
Edwin McDowell
specifically
: to make (a living organism) immune or resistant to a disease or pathogenic agent especially by inoculation : to create immunity in (as with a vaccine)
Measles can be almost completely controlled when adequate numbers of people within a population are immunized. —Scientific American Medicine
Scientific American Medicine … immunizing as many citizens as possible before an outbreak makes sense … —Shannon Brownlee
Shannon Brownlee Examples of immunize in a Sentence
Many people had to be immunized after being exposed to the disease.
Recent Examples on the Web
About 90% of Jackson County kindergarteners for the 2023-2024 school year were immunized against measles, according to the latest data available from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2025
The alliance provides vaccines for half of the world’s children and has immunized more than 1.1 billion additional children and counting in the past 25 years.
—Seth Berkley, Time, 27 Mar. 2025
Only 2% of cases occurred in people who were fully immunized with two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2025
Some colleges started requiring students to be immunized against COVID-19 during the pandemic, but most have dropped the requirements.
—Collin Binkley, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for immunize
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Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2025
The alliance provides vaccines for half of the world’s children and has immunized more than 1.1 billion additional children and counting in the past 25 years.
—Seth Berkley, Time, 27 Mar. 2025
Only 2% of cases occurred in people who were fully immunized with two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2025
Some colleges started requiring students to be immunized against COVID-19 during the pandemic, but most have dropped the requirements.
—Collin Binkley, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for immunize
Cite this Entry
“Immunize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immunize. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
immunize
verb
im·mu·nize
ˈim-yə-ˌnīz
immunized; immunizing
: to make immune
have been immunized against polio
Medical Definition
immunize
transitive verb
im·mu·nize
variants
also British immunise
immunized also British immunised; immunizing also British immunising
: to make immune
Legal Definition
immunize
transitive verb
im·mu·nize
ˈi-myə-ˌnīz
immunized; immunizing
: to grant immunity to
the ultimately ill-fated effort to immunize state judges from the burdens of the federal income tax—J. K. Owens
J. K. OwensLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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