Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
💊 To give too little 💊 Too little medicine
underdose

underdose

8.2
A smaller amount of medicine than needed that may not work
  • noun
  • /ˈʌndərˌdoʊs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : subdosis
  • The doctor warned that an underdose of medication could lead to ineffective treatment.

Examples

  • An underdose can occur if the prescribed amount of the antibiotic is not taken as directed.

  • Instead, he gave Lotus an underdose—that faint grain which distorts recognition and leaves you flat with an odd sensation.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Patients receiving an underdose of the drug may not experience the desired effects.

How Much

megadose
1 7.5
to overdose
  • NSFW
47 4.8
correct dose
  • Specialized
1 3.4
underdose
  • Specialized
8.2

Surface Forms

underdose singular
underdoses plural

Morphology

underdose = dose (transparent) = under + dose

Formed by the productive prefix 'under-' (meaning insufficient) plus 'dose'; the noun meaning (insufficient amount) is directly derived and predictable.

Etymology

Underdose The word underdose is made of under- meaning 'too little' and dose meaning 'an amount of medicine'. So an underdose is an amount of a drug that is too small to work properly.