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

People who use antiretroviral medications can reduce the viral load of HIV in the body to undetectable levels, which can stop them from passing it to others. —Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025

Certain antiretroviral medications need an acidic environment to be absorbed into your system. —Alex Yampolsky, Verywell Health, 15 Apr. 2025

The cost of antiretroviral drugs has fallen from $27 a day in 2000 to as little as 10 cents a day. —Jennifer Lotito, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

In the mid-2000s, programs such as PEPFAR and the Global Fund finally began distributing antiretroviral therapy to millions of people living with HIV in poor countries. —John Green, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 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