lentivirus
noun
len·ti·vi·rus
ˌlen-tə-ˈvī-rəs 
: any of a genus (Lentivirus) of retroviruses (such as the HIVs and SIV) that cause slowly progressive often fatal human and animal diseases (such as AIDS)
Examples of lentivirus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In an instant, the lentivirus timeline stretched, and in the years since has kept growing.
—
Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 Sep. 2022
Once there, scientists will treat the cells with Bluebird’s gene therapy, made from a lentivirus that shuttles the beta-globin gene into the cells.
—Ryan Cross, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022
In 2016 a team led by Ewelina Mamcarz, a bone marrow transplant specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, launched a trial for SCID-X1 using a lentivirus (a virus related to HIV) as a vector.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 18 Oct. 2021
Another type of gene-delivering virus, or vector, has been implicated in cancers in clinical trials, but never a lentivirus.
—Kelly Servick, Science | AAAS, 11 Aug. 2021
Sen’s team tested its existing material on a different coronavirus strain that causes a respiratory illness in pigs and on an unrelated type of pathogen called a lentivirus.
—Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 24 June 2020
Given that the transmissions between the cat species are so frequent, the lentivirus may eventually mutate enough to find the mountain lions habitable, but so far that hasn’t happened despite many opportunities.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Sep. 2017
VandeWoude studies lentiviruses — a type of retrovirus that includes HIV — in mountain lions and bobcats.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Sep. 2017
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Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 Sep. 2022
Once there, scientists will treat the cells with Bluebird’s gene therapy, made from a lentivirus that shuttles the beta-globin gene into the cells.
—Ryan Cross, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022
In 2016 a team led by Ewelina Mamcarz, a bone marrow transplant specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, launched a trial for SCID-X1 using a lentivirus (a virus related to HIV) as a vector.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 18 Oct. 2021
Another type of gene-delivering virus, or vector, has been implicated in cancers in clinical trials, but never a lentivirus.
—Kelly Servick, Science | AAAS, 11 Aug. 2021
Sen’s team tested its existing material on a different coronavirus strain that causes a respiratory illness in pigs and on an unrelated type of pathogen called a lentivirus.
—Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 24 June 2020
Given that the transmissions between the cat species are so frequent, the lentivirus may eventually mutate enough to find the mountain lions habitable, but so far that hasn’t happened despite many opportunities.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Sep. 2017
VandeWoude studies lentiviruses — a type of retrovirus that includes HIV — in mountain lions and bobcats.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Sep. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Lentivirus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lentivirus. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
lentivirus
noun
len·ti·vi·rus
ˈlen-tə-ˌvī-rəs
1
capitalized
: a genus of single-stranded RNA viruses (as HIV and SIV) of the family Retroviridae that cause progressive often fatal human and animal diseases (as AIDS, equine infectious anemia, and ovine progressive pneumonia)
2
: any virus of the genus Lentivirus
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