antiretroviral

adjective

an·​ti·​re·​tro·​vi·​ral ˌan-tē-ˈre-trō-ˌvī-rəl 

ˌan-tī-

: acting, used, or effective against retroviruses

antiretroviral drugs

antiretroviral therapy

antiretroviral noun

Examples of antiretroviral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Early detection and antiretroviral (ARV) treatment can save lives. —Laken Brooks, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

Read: Tragedy would unfold if Trump cancels Bush’s AIDS program By the mid-1990s, antiretroviral cocktails made HIV a treatable and survivable disease in rich communities. —John Green, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2025

Fit to serve with HIV For nearly three decades, HIV has been treatable with antiretroviral medications. —Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 16 Jan. 2025

Evan’s life was in our hands, and for five years, America kept him alive with antiretroviral medicines costing less than 12 cents a day, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. —Nicholas Kristof, Mercury News, 3 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for antiretroviral

• adenoviral
• antiviral
• retroviral
• chiral
• spiral
• viral

Medical Definition

antiretroviral

1 of 2 adjective

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

variants also anti-retroviral

: 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

antiretroviral therapy

see highly active antiretroviral therapy

antiretroviral

2 of 2 noun

variants also anti-retroviral

: 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