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heterologous
adjective
het·er·ol·o·gous
ˌhe-tə-ˈrä-lə-gəs
: derived from a different species
heterologously
adverb
Examples of heterologous in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For example, the FDA noted that heterologous boosters resulted in similar or higher serologic responses than did homologous boosters.
—
Judy Stone, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
This was surprising because, in some earlier studies, a mix-and-match (heterologous) approach seemed advantageous.
—
Judy Stone, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
This is not entirely surprising given that mixing vaccines—a practice known as heterologous prime-boost—has been tested out with the Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis vaccine, among several others.
—
Manavi Kapur, Quartz, 12 Aug. 2021
The study did find that such heterologous boosting with the Nuvaxovid Covid-19 booster did result in enhanced cross-reactive immunity as measured by antibody levels against the Omicron BA.1 and BA.5 subvariants.
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Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2022
Authorization of this booster possibility would then offer even more heterologous booster possibilities.
—
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 15 July 2022
For example, the cure rate of Clostridioides difficile with heterologous FMT is up to 90 percent.
—
Sarah Sloat, NBC News, 30 June 2022
Of the 98 participants, 50 went on to get another Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine dose for their booster (homologous booster), while the remaining 48 received a Moderna booster (heterologous booster).
—
Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 13 May 2022
Scientists have long suspected that heterologous prime-boosts sometimes work better than two identical doses.
—
New York Times, 19 Oct. 2021
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Word History
Etymology
heter- + -logous (as in homologous)
First Known Use
1893, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near heterologous
Cite this Entry
“Heterologous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heterologous. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Medical Definition
heterologous
adjective
het·er·ol·o·gous
ˌhet-ə-ˈräl-ə-gəs
1
: derived from a different species
heterologous DNAs
heterologous transplants
compare autologous, homologous sense 2a
2
: characterized by cross-reactivity
a heterologous vaccine protects against pathogenic antigens that cross-react with antibodies induced by antigens in the vaccine
heterologously
adverb
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