anaphylactic shock

Save This Word!

noun

Pathology. a severe and sometimes fatal allergic reaction to a foreign substance, especially a protein, as serum or bee venom, to which an individual has become sensitized, often involving rapid swelling, acute respiratory distress, and collapse of circulation.Compare cardiogenic shock, hypovolemic shock.

COMPARE MEANINGS

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of anaphylactic shock

First recorded in 1905–10

Words nearby anaphylactic shock

anaphoria, anaphoric, anaphrodisia, anaphrodisiac, anaphylactic antibody, anaphylactic shock, anaphylactogen, anaphylactogenesis, anaphylactoid, anaphylactoid purpura, anaphylactoid shock

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use anaphylactic shock in a sentence

The young lady, though not yet 14 years of age, has realized that it is simpler to tell everyone she meets that carrots send her into anaphylactic shock than to admit the truth, which is that she hates them.
Miss Manners: Three cases of ‘I can’t eat that’|Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin|February 18, 2021|Washington Post
Later in the month, in Israel, which is deploying the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a man suffered anaphylactic shock an hour after receiving a shot, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Everything to know about allergic reactions to COVID vaccines|Karen Yuan|December 31, 2020|Fortune
Citizens were watching in shock from above on the subway station.
Anger at The Cop Killer - And The Police|M.L. Nestel|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But fans still feel the death was a last-minute decision made for shock value rather than to serve the story.
‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Demand: Bring Back Beth!|Melissa Leon|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Shock at what the government considers dangerous and high risk could be read across social media.
The UK’s War on Porn: ‘Proof That Men Making These Rules Do Not See Women as Equals’|Aurora Snow|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She lost control of her bladder as she crouched in a corner, shaking, and unable to move her body due to the shock.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some were silent from shock, others giddy and smiling as they boarded the U.S. Air Force C-130s.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Like an electric shock, the well-known chords of the Tragala aroused his hearers—every one crowded round the singer.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
The violent shock dazed Malcolm for a second, but all might yet have been well were it not for an unavoidable accident.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
She was a woman of too much natural and acquired poise to remain askew under any shock.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
He feared to shock her by the sudden mention of the Senora's death; yet that would harm her less than continued anxiety.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Were he a young man, they could save him by cutting off his leg high up, but as it is he would not stand the shock.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for anaphylactic shock

anaphylactic shock

noun

a severe, sometimes fatal, reaction to a substance to which a person has an extreme sensitivity, often involving respiratory difficulty and circulation failure

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

Medical definitions for anaphylactic shock

anaphylactic shock

A severe, sometimes fatal allergic reaction characterized by a sharp drop in blood pressure, urticaria, and breathing difficulties that is caused by exposure to a foreign substance, such as a drug or bee venom, after preliminary or sensitizing exposure. The reaction may be fatal if emergency treatment, including epinephrine injections, is not given immediately.anaphylaxis

Scientific definitions for anaphylactic shock

anaphylactic shock

[ ăn′ə-fə-lăk′tĭk ]

A sudden, life-threatening allergic reaction, characterized by dilation of blood vessels with a sharp drop in blood pressure and bronchial spasm with shortness of breath. Anaphylactic shock is caused by exposure to a foreign substance, such as a drug or bee venom, to which the individual has been previously exposed. The substances act as antigens, provoking a preliminary immune response during the first exposure that results in a full-blown, immediate response during secondary exposure, called an immediate hypersensitivity reaction. Emergency treatment, including epinephrine injections, must be administered to prevent death. Also called anaphylaxis