pathogenic
adjective
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Definition of pathogenic
2 : causing or capable of causing disease
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Other Words from pathogenic
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noun
Examples of pathogenic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
An even smaller fraction are related enough to pathogenic strains to qualify for further study, such as the two new viruses in Myanmar. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "A Never-Before-Seen Virus Has Been Detected in Myanmar’s Bats," 11 July 2018 Many insects have a taste for the same plants humans do, and pathogenic microbes infect leaves, shoots and roots. — Brooke Borel, Scientific American, "Weeds Are Winning the War against Herbicide Resistance," 18 June 2018 His idea that microorganisms are necessary to good health, and that beneficial microbiota are pathogenic under the wrong conditions or in the wrong place, is now the standard view of researchers who study the microbiology of animals and plants. — Jason Pontin, WIRED, "The 19th-Century Crank Who Tried to Tell Us About the Microbiome," 15 June 2018 Overall, the researchers found that more than a third of the mice carried at least one potentially pathogenic bacterium, while about a quarter of them had bacteria with at least one resistance gene. — Andrew Joseph, STAT, "Germs carried by New York’s mice are plentiful, and some have antibiotic-resistance genes," 17 Apr. 2018 From the fecal samples, scientists were able to determine that 37% of mice harbored at least one potentially pathogenic bacterium. — Melanie Grayce West, WSJ, "Mice in New York Carry Rare and Dangerous Diseases, Study Finds," 17 Apr. 2018 Different forms of suPAR can circulate in the blood, and some variants might be more pathogenic than whole suPAR. — Stephen S. Hall, Science | AAAS, "What's your risk of kidney disease, heart attack, or diabetes? A single molecule can tell," 19 Apr. 2018 Baines, who was not involved in the research, explained that within some groups of bacteria, there are many different members, some pathogenic (or disease-causing), others harmless. — Susan Scutti, CNN, "New viruses, superbugs found in study of New York house mice," 17 Apr. 2018 For the immunosuppressed, ill or very old, mice with pathogenic microbes can be especially dangerous. — Melanie Grayce West, WSJ, "Mice in New York Carry Rare and Dangerous Diseases, Study Finds," 17 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pathogenic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for pathogenic
pathogenic
adjective
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Medical Definition of pathogenic
2 : causing or capable of causing disease pathogenic microorganisms
Other Words from pathogenic
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adverb
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