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Glite Dictionary
avirulent

avirulent

9.0
Not able to cause disease in people or animals
  • adjective
  • /ˌeɪvɪˈrʌlənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : avirulento
  • In fact, the capsular polysaccharide of A. baumannii could be considered its main virulence factor, as strains lacking the capsule are avirulent and readily killed by complement 86.

Examples

  • In spite of their parasitic nature, most Laboulbeniales are avirulent and seem to have little to no effect on the reproduction and survival of their host.

    Blog text (12)

  • Some avirulent strains of bacteria do not cause disease and can help reduce infections.

  • Many bacteria are avirulent, meaning they will not harm healthy organisms.

  • Unlike its virulent counterpart, the avirulent version of the virus cannot lead to illness.

Synonyms

noninfectious
vsavirulent
  • Specialized
1 4.6

Not able to spread disease between people

is mainly about lacking disease-causing power rather than transmission
uninfective
vsavirulent
  • Specialized
6.9

Not able to make others sick or to spread a disease

is about lacking disease-causing power rather than spreading between people

Antonyms

virulent
  • Specialized
14 9.1

Very harmful and able to cause disease that spreads quickly

How Virulent

virulent
  • Specialized
14 9.1
pathogenic
  • Specialized
5 7.0
avirulent
  • Specialized
9.0
harmless
231 1.0

Surface Forms

avirulent positive

Morphology

avirulent = virulent (semi-transparent) = a + virulent

The meaning is directly 'not virulent', but the negative prefix 'a-' is less familiar and less productive for many learners than prefixes like 'un-' or 'in-'.

Etymology

Avirulent is built from the prefix a- meaning 'not' and virulent, which comes from an old word for 'poison', the same idea as in virus. So avirulent means 'not poisonous' or 'not able to cause disease'.