antimicrobial
UK /ˌæn.ti.maɪˈkɹəʊ.bi.əl/ · US /ˌæn.ti.maɪˈkɹoʊ.bi.əl/ adjective, noun
Forms antimicrobials anti-microbial
- adjective (pharmacology) Tending to destroy or capable of destroying microbes.
- adjective (pharmacology) Inhibiting the growth of microbes.
- adjective (pharmacology) Preventing or counteracting the pathogenic action of microbes.
- noun An agent (drug or other substance) that destroys microbes (i.e., kills off a population of them).
- noun An agent (drug or other substance) that inhibits the growth of microbes but does not kill their whole population.
- noun An agent (drug or other substance) that counteracts the pathogenic action of microbes.
Synonyms
Etymology
From anti- + microbe + -ial.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “antimicrobial”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details