antiretroviral

adjective an·ti·re·tro·vi·ral \ -ˈre-trō-ˌvī-rəl \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Definition of antiretroviral

: acting, used, or effective against retroviruses

antiretroviral drugs

antiretroviral therapy

—

antiretroviral

noun

Recent Examples of antiretroviral from the Web

McKinnon, who is 26, was not alive to see the devastation HIV wrought before the introduction of antiretroviral drugs that control the virus.

— NBC News, "A side-effect of preventing HIV with PrEP: Less condom use," 6 June 2018
One of the really key measures there was getting antiretroviral HIV drugs, initially two pills, principally to women in Africa.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr on Recode Decode," 19 May 2018
There’s no cure or vaccine for HIV, but the discovery of antiretroviral treatments turned an HIV diagnosis from a death sentence into a chronic illness.

— julia belluz, Vox, "A primer for Donald Trump: HIV and HPV are completely different viruses," 18 May 2018
In Copenhagen, Eugen-Olsen and others examined blood collected from more than 300 HIV patients in the early 1990s, before life-saving antiretroviral therapies became available.

— stephen s. hall, Science | AAAS, "What's your risk of kidney disease, heart attack, or diabetes? A single molecule can tell," 19 Apr. 2018
One ongoing study has shown that patients who start AIDS antiretroviral drug therapy early generally fare better than those who wait, including significantly reducing their chances of developing full-scale AIDS.

— marlene cimons, Washington Post, "HIV-infected people are living for years, but age-related diseases set in early," 14 Apr. 2018
That may cause people with HIV to wait until their illness has become severe before seeking care and receiving antiretroviral therapy (medications that can treat HIV by slowing the growth of the virus).

— korin miller, SELF, "Why ABC Correspondent Karl Schmid Waited 10 Years to Publicly Reveal He’s HIV-Positive," 27 Mar. 2018
And in West and Central Africa, 80% of infected children are not receiving antiretroviral therapy, making it the region with the world's lowest rate of access to that type of treatment.

— siobhan o'grady, latimes.com, "Every day, 170 young people are infected with HIV in West and Central Africa, and many can't afford treatment," 2 Apr. 2018
Over that time, a man can spread the virus to dozens of partners; but a man who has been tested and takes his antiretroviral pills every day is at virtually zero risk of passing on the virus.

— donald g. mcneil jr., New York Times, "Grindr, Popular Gay Sex App, to Offer H.I.V. Test Reminders," 26 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'antiretroviral.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of antiretroviral

1979

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

antiretroviral

adjective an·ti·ret·ro·vi·ral \ -ˈre-trō-ˌvī-rəl \

variants: also anti-retroviral

medical Definition of antiretroviral

: acting, used, or effective against retroviruses

All four drugs, which inhibit HIV protease and thus interfere with viral maturation and replication, are the most potent antiretroviral agents available to treat patients with HIV disease.
—The Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 Nov. 1996

antiretroviral therapy

— see highly active antiretroviral therapy

antiretroviral

noun

variants: also anti-retroviral

medical Definition of antiretroviral

: an agent effective against retroviruses

Current anti-HIV drugs, or antiretrovirals, bind to specific HIV enzymes and impede their activity.
—Douglas D. Richman, Scientific American, July 1998

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