nonbacterial

adjective

non·​bac·​te·​ri·​al ˌnän-bak-ˈtir-ē-əl 

: not bacterial : not consisting of, resulting from, or caused by bacteria

nonbacterial gastroenteritis

Examples of nonbacterial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, doctors prescribing antibiotics for nonbacterial infections and patients not completing their prescribed course of treatment give bacteria the chance to evolve resistance. —Andre Hudson, The Conversation, 29 Oct. 2021

This is ciguatera, a nonbacterial foodborne illness from seafood affecting between 50,000 and 500,000 people each year. —Brianna Randall, Discover Magazine, 12 Mar. 2020

This effect has been observed for other viral diseases, such as influenza and nonbacterial pneumonia, and is clearly an important consideration, especially when so many people are encountering a novel virus for the first time as adults. —Zeynep Tufekci, The Atlantic, 30 Mar. 2021

Doctors learned that the patient featured in the NEJM report had a type of endocarditis called nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis. —Maggie O'Neill, Health.com, 13 June 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nonbacterial

• immaterial
• magisterial
• managerial
• ministerial
• nonmaterial
• presbyterial
• antibacterial
• biomaterial
• mycobacterial
• arterial
• bacterial
• ethereal

Medical Definition

nonbacterial

adjective

non·​bac·​te·​ri·​al -bak-ˈtir-ē-əl 

: not of, relating to, caused by, or being bacteria

nonbacterial pneumonia