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ad·ju·vant | \ ˈa-jə-vənt 
\
\Definition of adjuvant
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : serving to aid or contribute : auxiliary
2 : enhancing the effectiveness of medical treatment
Retinoids also seem to be useful as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of psoriasis, and they may induce regression of premalignant lesions, including actinic keratoses.— Robert S. Stern specifically : of, relating to, or being treatment administered following primary cancer treatment to enhance the outcome of primary treatment adjuvant chemotherapy following surgery … women who choose this extensive surgery live no longer than women who choose lumpectomy (with or without adjuvant radiation) and frequent check-ups — Susan S. Weed — compare neoadjuvant
adjuvant
nounDefinition of adjuvant (Entry 2 of 2)
: one that helps or facilitates: such as
a : an ingredient (as in a prescription or a solution) that modifies the action of the principal ingredient
b : something (such as a drug or method) that enhances the effectiveness of medical treatment
used chemotherapy as an adjuvant to surgery
c : a substance (such as one added to a vaccine) enhancing the immune response to an antigen
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Examples of adjuvant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Sanofi, Glaxo Join Forces to Develop Vaccine (7 a.m. NY)
Sanofi will combine its experimental coronavirus vaccine with GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s adjuvant technology, which may allow more doses of a shot to be produced.
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Bloomberg.com, "NYC Adds to Death Toll; California Maps Reopening: Virus Update," 6 Apr. 2020 Sanofi will provide the experimental vaccine, while Glaxo will contribute its adjuvant technology, which may allow more doses of the shot to be produced.
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Fortune, "She figured out how Ford could manufacture coronavirus face shields," 15 Apr. 2020 Sanofi will combine its experimental coronavirus vaccine with GlaxoSmithKline’s adjuvant technology, which may allow more doses of a shot to be produced, the companies said Tuesday.
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BostonGlobe.com, "Trump administration reaches bailout deal with airlines," 14 Apr. 2020 These findings led a National Institutes of Health consensus panel to recommend adjuvant chemotherapy for most patients, a practice that has contributed to declining breast cancer mortality.
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Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, "Tens of Thousands of Early Breast Cancer Patients May Not Need Chemo After All," 4 June 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun And in some cases, there are things called adjuvants, chemicals to boost the response.
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CBS News, "Transcript: Dr. Michael Osterholm speaks with Michael Morell on "Intelligence Matters"," 13 May 2020 The team at Boston Children’s is not the only group testing adjuvants.
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Karen Weintraub, Scientific American, "Coronavirus Vaccines May Not Work for the Elderly—and This Lab Aims to Change That," 26 Mar. 2020 Many vaccines also contain a chemical called an adjuvant that prompts a stronger immune response.
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Popular Science, "A new vaccine protects mice from another dangerous coronavirus," 9 Apr. 2020 By combining the recombinant vaccine with an adjuvant, or substance that increases immune stimulation, Novavax was able to achieve a high neutralization titer in preclinical tests — a measure of the protective antibodies that can block the virus.
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Katie Thomas, New York Times, "More Coronavirus Vaccines and Treatments Move Toward Human Trials," 8 Apr. 2020 Levy and Dowling are now beginning to develop and test adjuvants combined with various COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
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Karen Weintraub, Scientific American, "Coronavirus Vaccines May Not Work for the Elderly—and This Lab Aims to Change That," 26 Mar. 2020 Before the outbreak, the team had been working on a flu vaccine that would protect the elderly by using immune-boosting molecules called adjuvants.
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Robert Kuznia, CNN, "The timetable for a coronavirus vaccine is 18 months. Experts say that's risky," 31 Mar. 2020 An adjuvant, containing organic compounds or aluminum salts that help trigger an immune response, is added.
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USA Today, "Why a coronavirus vaccine is more than a year away, despite medical researchers' progress," 9 Mar. 2020 The boost contained a recombinant version of the surface protein mixed with an immune system booster, or adjuvant, called alum.
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Jon Cohen, Science | AAAS, "Another HIV vaccine strategy fails in large-scale study," 2 Feb. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adjuvant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for adjuvant
adjuvant
adjectivead·ju·vant | \ ˈaj-ə-vənt \
\Medical Definition of adjuvant
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : serving to aid or contribute
2 : assisting in the prevention, amelioration, or cure of disease
adjuvant chemotherapy following surgery
adjuvant
nounMedical Definition of adjuvant (Entry 2 of 2)
: one that helps or facilitates: as
a : an ingredient (as in a prescription or solution) that facilitates or modifies the action of the principal ingredient
the beneficial activity of the spray is enhanced by adjuvants
b : something (as a drug or method) that enhances the effectiveness of a medical treatment
used chemotherapy as an adjuvant to surgery
c : a substance enhancing the immune response to an antigen
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Time Traveler for adjuvant
The first known use of adjuvant was in 1574
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