acquired immune deficiency syndrome
1
3.9
- noun
- /əˈkwaɪərd ɪˈmjun dɪˈfɪʃənsi ˈsɪndroʊm/
- Specialized
:
síndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida
- Many people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome struggle to find access to adequate healthcare.
- acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
- acquired immune deficiency syndrome epidemic
Examples
-
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is having a major impact on urban public hospitals.
Academic text (1990) -
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome epidemic has led to increased awareness about safe practices to prevent its transmission.
-
The spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has become the most significant public health problem in the last two decades.
Academic text (1996) -
Finally, people with serious and costly illnesses, such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome and rare diseases, may not be excluded.
Academic text (1993) -
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic is significantly affecting older people.
Academic text (1991) -
As the epidemic of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) continues to spread, adolescents are increasingly at risk for exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Academic text (1996) -
As many as 42 million people worldwide are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); last year, about 3 million people died of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and perhaps 5 million were newly infected.
Academic text (2004) -
After nearly 15 years, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in the United States has claimed over 250,000 lives, and it has been estimated that over 1 million people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; Centers for Disease Control, 1994).
Academic text (1996) -
Governments and organizations are working together to combat acquired immune deficiency syndrome through education and treatment programs.
Synonyms
958
2.5
A serious disease caused by HIV that weakens the body's natural defence
Surface Forms
Morphology
acquired + immune + deficiency + syndrome
The phrase is transparently compositional: 'acquired' (not innate), 'immune' (protected against disease), 'deficiency' (a lack), and 'syndrome' (a set of symptoms) combine to yield 'a condition of acquired lack of immune protection.' This construction mirrors common medical naming patterns cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer it refers to a disease causing weakened immunity (though specific clinical details or transmission routes may require extra knowledge).
Etymology
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome names what happens: acquired means 'got' after birth, immune is the body's 'defense', deficiency means 'not enough', and syndrome means a 'group of related problems'. So the name means a disease you get that leaves your body's defenses weak.