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Glite Dictionary
bacteriostat

bacteriostat

9.3
A substance that slows or stops bacteria from growing without killing them
  • noun
  • /bækˈtɪəriəˌstæt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : bacteriostático
  • The bacteriostat effectively slowed the growth of harmful bacteria.

Examples

  • Some disinfectants act as a bacteriostat rather than killing bacteria outright.

  • Researchers are developing new bacteriostats for food preservation.

  • Adding a bacteriostat to the solution helped prevent contamination during the experiment.

  • The laboratory tested the effectiveness of the new bacteriostat in various bacterial cultures.

  • Adding a bacteriostat to the solution helped prevent contamination during the experiment.

  • Some disinfectants act as a bacteriostat rather than killing bacteria outright.

  • The laboratory tested the effectiveness of the new bacteriostat in various bacterial cultures.

Antonyms

bacteriolytic
  • Specialized
9.9

Causing bacteria to break open and die

How Destructive

bactericide
  • Specialized
6.3
bacteriostat
  • Specialized
9.3

Surface Forms

bacteriostat singular
bacteriostats plural

Morphology

bacteriostat = bacteria (semi-transparent) = bacterio + stat

The element 'bacteria' clearly signals the target organism, but the combining element '-stat' is a specialized technical morpheme meaning an inhibitor and may be unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Bacteriostat comes from bacterio- meaning 'bacteria' and -stat meaning 'to stand still' or 'stop', like in static. So a bacteriostat is something that keeps bacteria from growing, holding them 'still' rather than killing them.