immunocompromised

adjective

im·​mu·​no·​com·​pro·​mised ˌi-myə-nō-ˈkäm-prə-ˌmīzd 

i-ˌmyü-nō-

variants or less commonly immuno-compromised or immune-compromised

i-ˈmyün-ˈkäm-prə-ˌmīzd 

: having the immune system impaired or weakened (as by drugs or illness)

And fear of vaccines doesn't just potentially harm the children whose parents forgo vaccination but also other kids, as well as immunocompromised adults, by threatening the herd immunity that we rely on to protect the larger population.

—James Poniewozik

Raw shellfish eaters are vulnerable to hepatitis and mild-to-severe gastroenteritis. At greater risk, however, are those who are immunocompromised, pregnant or suffer from liver disease, chronic alcohol abuse, cancer, diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

—Eating Well

Only recently, the parasite has also been shown to cause illness in human beings, but at first it was believed to affect only immune-compromised patients.

—Melva Weber

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

At a meeting in December, drugmakers asked US and European regulators to consider adopting new standards for approving new antibody drugs, especially those meant for immunocompromised people. —Emily Mullin, WIRED, 8 Feb. 2023

The feeling that is threaded throughout the complex experiences of Osato and other immunocompromised people in recent years is that of loneliness. —Laura Newberrystaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2023

Evusheld is a monoclonal antibody therapy used to prevent Covid-19 in immunocompromised people, who are less likely to generate an immune response from Covid-19 vaccination. —Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN, 26 Jan. 2023

Merck’s Lagevrio, a less-effective COVID treatment pill, and AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, a preventive therapy for the immunocompromised, are on track to be commercialized sooner, sometime in the winter. —Hannah Recht, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Dec. 2022

Merck’s Lagevrio, a less effective COVID treatment pill, and AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, a preventive therapy for the immunocompromised, are on track to be commercialized sooner, sometime in the winter. —Dallas News, 9 Dec. 2022

Merck's Lagevrio, a less-effective COVID treatment pill, and AstraZeneca's Evusheld, a preventive therapy for the immunocompromised, are on track to be commercialized sooner, sometime in the winter. —Hannah Recht, CBS News, 7 Dec. 2022

Instead of mass testing, for example, authorities may advise people to get tested before meeting an immunocompromised or elderly person. —Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2022

In the first, the virus infected an immunocompromised person unable to fight the virus. —NBC News, 30 Jan. 2022

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Word History

Etymology

immuno- + compromised

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

immunocompromised

adjective

im·​mu·​no·​com·​pro·​mised -ˈkäm-prə-ˌmīzd 

variants also immuno-compromised or immune-compromised

: having the immune system impaired or weakened (as by drugs or illness)

immunocompromised patients