ACQUIRED IMMUNITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does acquired immunity mean? 

• ACQUIRED IMMUNITY (noun)
  The noun ACQUIRED IMMUNITY has 1 sense:

1. immunity to a particular disease that is not innate but has been acquired during life; immunity can be acquired by the development of antibodies after an attack of an infectious disease or by a pregnant mother passing antibodies through the placenta to a fetus or by vaccination

  Familiarity information: ACQUIRED IMMUNITY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ACQUIRED IMMUNITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Immunity to a particular disease that is not innate but has been acquired during life; immunity can be acquired by the development of antibodies after an attack of an infectious disease or by a pregnant mother passing antibodies through the placenta to a fetus or by vaccination

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("acquired immunity" is a kind of...):

immunity; resistance ((medicine) the condition in which an organism can resist disease)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "acquired immunity"):

active immunity (a form of acquired immunity in which the body produces its own antibodies against disease-causing antigens)

passive immunity (an impermanent form of acquired immunity in which antibodies against a disease are acquired naturally (as through the placenta to an unborn child) or artificially (as by injection of antiserum))

 Context examples 

In addition, this agent may reduce the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and may potentiate natural and acquired immunity.

(Lactobacillus plantarum 299v/Lactobacillus acidophilus/Bifidobacterium lactis Probiotic Supplement, NCI Thesaurus)

They are thought to play a role in host defenses against infections, inflammation, wound repair, and acquired immunity.

(Defensins, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The lack of necessity for CD8+ T cells indicates the process is not one of conventional acquired immunity.

(Immune Stimulant Molecule Protects against Cancer Development, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)