adjuvant

[ aj-uh-vuh nt ]
/ ˈædʒ ə vənt /

adjective

serving to help or assist; auxiliary.
Medicine/Medical. utilizing drugs, radiation therapy, or other means of supplemental treatment following cancer surgery.

noun

a person or thing that aids or helps.
anything that aids in removing or preventing a disease, especially a substance added to a prescription to aid the effect of the main ingredient.
Immunology. a substance admixed with an immunogen in order to elicit a more marked immune response.

Origin of adjuvant

1600–10; < Latin adjuvant- (stem of adjuvāns, present participle of adjuvāre), equivalent to ad- ad- + juv- (stem of juvāre to help) + -ant- -ant

Example sentences from the Web for adjuvant

British Dictionary definitions for adjuvant

adjuvant
/ (ˈædʒəvənt) /

adjective

aiding or assisting

noun

something that aids or assists; auxiliary
med a drug or other substance that enhances the activity of another
immunol a substance that enhances the immune response stimulated by an antigen when injected with the antigen

Word Origin for adjuvant

C17: from Latin adjuvāns, present participle of adjuvāre, from juvāre to help

Medical definitions for adjuvant

adjuvant
[ ăjə-vənt ]

n.

A pharmacological agent added to a drug, predictably affecting the action of the drug's active ingredient.
An immunological vehicle for enhancing antigenicity, such as a water-in-oil emulsion in which antigen solution is emulsified in mineral oil. immunoadjuvant