abacterial

[ey-bak-teer-ee-uhl]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

not caused by or free from the presence of bacteria.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of abacterial¹

First recorded in 1930–35; a- ⁶ + bacterial

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He first used it to find a gene signature to distinguish sepsis from noninfectious inflammation, then to distinguish whether it’s abacterial or viral infection.