immunize

verb

im·​mu·​nize ˈi-myə-ˌnīz How to pronounce immunize (audio)
immunized; immunizing; immunizes

transitive verb

: to make (someone or something) immune to something : to provide with protection against or immunity from something
… the investigation has been slowed by the refusal of seven former and current Hughes officials to cooperate unless immunized from prosecution.Andy Pasztor and Rick Wartzman
Budding novelists immunize themselves against rejection by recalling rebuffs endured by even the most successful novelists …Edwin McDowell
specifically : to make (a living organism) immune or resistant to a disease or pathogenic agent especially by inoculation : to create immunity in (as with a vaccine)
Measles can be almost completely controlled when adequate numbers of people within a population are immunized. Scientific American Medicine
immunizing as many citizens as possible before an outbreak makes sense … Shannon Brownlee

Examples of immunize in a Sentence

Many people had to be immunized after being exposed to the disease.
Recent Examples on the Web In 2019, America was doing great in terms of measles vaccination—across the country, 95.2 percent of kindergartners were getting immunized, according to the CDC—and yet, in spite of this fantastic progress, measles cases were exploding. Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024 Nationally, the rate of kindergartners fully immunized against the measles dropped from 95% in the 2019-20 school year to 93% in 2022-23, according to the CDC. Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Teenagers and adults who have not yet been immunized need one dose. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024 With similar suits being filed around the country, the firearms industry mobilized legislative support at the state and federal levels to pass laws effectively immunizing gun retailers and manufacturers from civil lawsuits. Tony Cook, ProPublica, 30 Jan. 2024 However, the experience of doctors getting their patients immunized has been varied across the country. Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 26 Jan. 2024 And some villagers who are vaccine skeptics are demanding to be rewarded for getting immunized. Rick Noack, Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2023 Amid the influx of immigrant children from the southern border, the city changed its vaccine requirements, a move that flew in the face of residents who refused to have their children immunized during the coronavirus pandemic and were banned from attending school. Anna Giaritelli, Washington Examiner, 11 Jan. 2024 The initiative came just three decades after Edward Jenner’s discovery of a method to immunize against smallpox. Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'immunize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of immunize was in 1889

Dictionary Entries Near immunize

Cite this Entry

“Immunize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immunize. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

immunize

verb
im·​mu·​nize ˈim-yə-ˌnīz How to pronounce immunize (audio)
immunized; immunizing
: to make immune
have been immunized against polio

Medical Definition

immunize

transitive verb
im·​mu·​nize
variants also British immunise
immunized also British immunised; immunizing also British immunising
: to make immune

Legal Definition

immunize

transitive verb
im·​mu·​nize ˈi-myə-ˌnīz How to pronounce immunize (audio)
immunized; immunizing
: to grant immunity to
the ultimately ill-fated effort to immunize state judges from the burdens of the federal income taxJ. K. Owens
immunization noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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