Inoculation

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Inoculation \In*oc"u*la"tion\, n. [L. inoculatio: cf. F.
     inoculation.]
     1. The act or art of inoculating trees or plants.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Med.) The act or practice of communicating a disease to a


        person in health, by inserting contagious matter in his
        skin or flesh, usually for the purpose of inducing
        immunity to the disease.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     Note: The use was formerly limited to the intentional
           communication of the smallpox, but is now extended to
           include any similar introduction of modified virus; as,
           the inoculation of rabies by Pasteur. The organisms
           inoculated are usually an attentuated form of the
           disease-causing organism, which may multiply harmlessly
           in the body of the host, but induce immunity to the
           more virulent forms of the organism.
           [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     3. Fig.: The communication of principles, especially false
        principles, to the mind.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Microbiology) The introduction of microorganisms into a
        growth medium, to cause the growth and multiplication of
        the microorganisms.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  inoculation
       n : taking a vaccine as a precaution against contracting a
           disease [syn: {vaccination}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  51 Moby Thesaurus words for "inoculation":
     absorption and regurgitation, antitoxin, bang, booster,
     booster shot, brainwashing, catechization, conditioning, dictation,
     embedment, entrance, fix, graft, grafting, hit, hypodermic,
     hypodermic injection, imbuement, impaction, impactment,
     implantation, impregnation, impression, inculcation,
     indoctrination, infixation, infixion, infusion, injection,
     insertion, insinuation, instillation, instillment, interjection,
     interpolation, introduction, intromission, jet injection,
     mainlining, narcotic injection, penetration, perfusion,
     reindoctrination, shooting up, shot, skin-popping, tessellation,
     transplant, transplantation, vaccination, vaccine