adjuvant

adjective

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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

noun

Definition 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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Did You Know?

Adjective

Things that are adjuvant rarely get top billing—they're the supporting players, not the stars. But that doesn't mean they're not important. An adjuvant medicine, for example, can have a powerful healing effect when teamed up with another medicine or curative treatment. Adjuvant descends from the Latin verb adjuvare ("to aid"), which also gave English the nouns coadjutor ("assistant") and aid. These days, adjuvant tends to turn up most often in medical contexts, but it can also be used in the general sense of "serving to aid." Likewise, the noun adjuvant can mean "a drug or method that enhances the effectiveness of medical treatment" or simply "one that helps or facilitates."

Examples of adjuvant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective An adjuvant component for the vaccine is required and provided by Novavax, a biotechnology company in the US and Sweden. — Adrian Hill, Quartz, "A global team of researchers has developed a malaria vaccine with “unprecedented” effectiveness," 25 Apr. 2021 The British pharmaceutical giant opted to partner with a number of companies using its adjuvant technology in the creation of a vaccine. — Fortune, "Promising COVID-19 antibody therapy significantly reduces risk of hospitalization, death," 12 Mar. 2021 GlaxoSmithKline, which makes vaccines against shingles, hepatitis, meningitis and many childhood illnesses, has focused its COVID-19 efforts on combining its adjuvant technology with rival companies’ vaccines. — BostonGlobe.com, "Biden expects enough COVID vaccine for all American adults by end of May, 2 months earlier than anticipated," 2 Mar. 2021 GlaxoSmithKline, which makes vaccines against shingles, hepatitis, meningitis and many childhood illnesses, has focused its COVID-19 efforts on combining its adjuvant technology with rival companies’ vaccines. — Zeke Miller And Linda A. Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "President Biden says US expects enough COVID vaccine for all adult Americans by the end of May — 2 months earlier than anticipated," 2 Mar. 2021 GlaxoSmithKline, which makes vaccines against shingles, hepatitis, meningitis and many childhood illnesses, has focused its COVID-19 efforts on combining its adjuvant technology with rival companies’ vaccines. — Time, "U.S. Will Have Enough COVID-19 Vaccines for All Adults by End of May, Biden Says," 2 Mar. 2021 GlaxoSmithKline, which makes vaccines against shingles, hepatitis, meningitis and many childhood illnesses, has focused its COVID-19 efforts on combining its adjuvant technology with rival companies' vaccines. — Zeke Miller, Star Tribune, "Biden vows enough vaccine for all US adults by end of May," 2 Mar. 2021 GlaxoSmithKline, which makes vaccines against shingles, hepatitis, meningitis and many childhood illnesses, has focused its COVID-19 efforts on combining its adjuvant technology with rival companies’ vaccines. — Zeke Miller, Linda A. Johnson And Jonathan Lemire, Chron, "Biden vows enough vaccine for all US adults by end of May," 2 Mar. 2021 Swapping adjuvants, or even adjuvant sources, isn’t trivial, Dr. Omer said. — Katherine J. Wu, New York Times, "Coronavirus Vaccine Makers Are Not Mass-Slaughtering Sharks," 13 Oct. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Each of the vaccines is administered with a chemical called an adjuvant, which boosts immune responses to the inoculation. — Heidi Ledford, Scientific American, "Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise—Now Come Tougher Trials," 28 Apr. 2021 The protein is isolated, purified and injected into people as a vaccine, along with a compound, called an adjuvant, that jump-starts an immune response and renders the vaccine more effective. — Peter Loftus, WSJ, "Novavax Nears Covid-19 Vaccine Game Changer—After Years of Failure," 23 Feb. 2021 In 2014, Novavax purchased a Swedish company that produced an adjuvant, derived from the bark of a Chilean tree, to boost the immune response generated by a vaccine. — Peter Loftus, WSJ, "Novavax Nears Covid-19 Vaccine Game Changer—After Years of Failure," 23 Feb. 2021 Using the adjuvant, Novavax began working on shots to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which causes the hospitalization of about 58,000 young children a year in the U.S. and can be deadly. — Peter Loftus, WSJ, "Novavax Nears Covid-19 Vaccine Game Changer—After Years of Failure," 23 Feb. 2021 Valneva also combines the inactivated virus with an adjuvant, a chemical substance that boosts the body’s immune response. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, "As mutant COVID variants multiply, the hunt is on for a ‘universal’ kill-all vaccine," 19 Feb. 2021 This is harvested and mixed with an adjuvant -- an immune booster --based on saponin, found in soap bark trees. — Maggie Fox, CNN, "Here's a look at how the different coronavirus vaccines work," 24 Nov. 2020 But to make sure that the body still generates the protective antibodies against it, Novavax has inserted an ingredient called an adjuvant, which acts as a hypeman for the immune system to signal it to spring into action. — Katherine Ellen Foley, Quartz, "What is the Novavax vaccine, and how does it work?," 28 Dec. 2020 Glaxo’s adjuvant, called AS03, is a combination of vitamin E and liver oil taken from sharks. — Joseph Walker, WSJ, "To Find a Coronavirus Vaccine, GlaxoSmithKline Is Bonding With Its Biggest Competitors," 24 Oct. 2020

These 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.

History and Etymology for adjuvant

Adjective

borrowed from Latin adjuvant-, adjuvans, present participle of adjuvāre "to help, aid, facilitate" — more at aid entry 1

Noun

borrowed from Medieval Latin adjuvant-, adjuvans, going back to Latin, present participle of adjuvāre "to help, aid, facilitate" — more at aid entry 1

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Last Updated

1 May 2021

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“Adjuvant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjuvant. Accessed 10 May. 2021.

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More Definitions for adjuvant

adjuvant

adjective

ad·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

noun

Medical 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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