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View synonyms for AIDS

AIDS

[ eydz ]

noun

, Pathology.
  1. acquired immune deficiency syndome: a disease of the immune system characterized by increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections, as pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and candidiasis, to certain cancers, as Kaposi's sarcoma, and to neurological disorders: caused by a retrovirus and transmitted chiefly through blood or blood products that enter the body's bloodstream, especially by sexual contact or contaminated hypodermic needles.


AIDS

/ eɪdz /

acronym for

  1. acquired immune (or immuno-)deficiency syndrome: a condition, caused by a virus, in which certain white blood cells (lymphocytes) are destroyed, resulting in loss of the body's ability to protect itself against disease. AIDS is transmitted by sexual intercourse, through infected blood and blood products, and through the placenta
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


AIDS

/ ādz /

  1. Short for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. An infectious disease of the immune system caused by an human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS is characterized by a decrease in the number of helper T cells, which causes a severe immunodeficiency that leaves the body susceptible to a variety of potentially fatal infections. The virus is transmitted in infected bodily fluids such as semen and blood, as through sexual intercourse, the use of contaminated hypodermic syringes, and placental transfer between mother and fetus. Although a cure or vaccine is not yet available, a number of antiviral drugs can decrease the viral load and subsequent infections in patients with AIDS.


AIDS

  1. Acronym for a cquired i mmune d eficiency s yndrome, a fatal disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus , or HIV. Believed to have originated in Africa , AIDS has become an epidemic , infecting tens of millions of people worldwide. The virus, which is transmitted from one individual to another through the exchange of body fluids (such as blood or semen ), attacks white blood cells , thereby causing the body to lose its capacity to ward off infection . As a result, many AIDS patients die of opportunistic infections that strike their debilitated bodies. AIDS first appeared in the United States in 1981, primarily among homosexuals and intravenous drug users who shared needles, but throughout the world, it is also transmitted by heterosexual contact. Today, scientists are hopeful that AIDS can be managed by new drugs, such as protease inhibitors , and need not be fatal. ( See AZT .)


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Word History and Origins

Origin of AIDS1

First recorded in 1982; a(cquired) i(mmune) d(eficiency) s(yndrome)
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Example Sentences

In 2007 he said he had discovered a cure for AIDS using natural herbs.

AIDS insanity:  When running for the US Senate in 1992, Huckabee called for a quarantine of people who had AIDS.

And increasingly smart navigation aids in the cockpit brought far greater precision and efficiency to route planning.

The following year, he developed pneumocystis pneumonia—a serious infection associated with HIV and AIDS.

In the 1980s, your community allowed hundreds of thousands of us to die because you believed AIDS was divine punishment.

He could not wriggle a toe, which made his mental processes difficult, for his toes were first aids to his brain.

It aids conversation by occasionally interrupting it for a short period, to be renewed with a new impetus.

The oil not only prevents evaporation but aids greatly to keep the uncovered parts from corrosion.

While waiting the return of his aids, he went to the top of the college to reconnoitre the surrounding country.

The knight's fee was subject to aids, which were paid to the Crown upon the marriage of the king's son or daughter.

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AidosAIDS dementia complex