immune
Americanadjective
-
protected from a disease or the like, as by inoculation or by having the necessary antibodies due to a previous infection (often followed byto ).
Most adults in the study were immune to yellow fever due to previous vaccination.
Since I had already had measles, I assumed I was immune.
-
of or relating to the production of antibodies or lymphocytes that can react with a specific antigen.
Crohn's disease is an abnormal immune reaction that causes the immune system to attack cells in the lining of the digestive tract.
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exempt or protected.
He thought being rich made him immune from punishment, but he went to jail for his crimes.
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not responsive or susceptible.
Over time writers are supposed to grow immune to criticism and let bad reviews roll off our backs.
You're certainly highly resistant to argument, and also immune to new ideas.
noun
adjective
-
protected against a specific disease by inoculation or as the result of innate or acquired resistance
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relating to or conferring immunity See antibody
an immune body
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unsusceptible (to) or secure (against)
immune to inflation
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exempt from obligation, penalty, etc
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of immune
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin immūnis “exempt,” from im- im- 2 + -mūnis ( see common)
Explanation
To be immune to something is to be resistant to it. If you had chickenpox as a child, you should be immune to it now. The adjective immune comes from the Latin word immunis, which means “exempt from public service.” If you're protected — or exempt — from disease, injury, work, insults, or accusations, then you're immune. Vaccinations serve to make people immune to certain diseases. Being a diplomat makes people immune to certain legal persecution. To be immune to bullying means that you don’t let the bad behavior of your peers get you down.
Vocabulary lists containing immune
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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All American Boys
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Life Science: Human Systems
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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.
The film, which features a star-studded cast of Guy Pearce, Margaret Qualley and Josh Brolin, is set in the 2030s, where only those immune from a deadly flu remain alive.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Previous plaintiffs have tried to sue Meta over the content that is shown on its apps, but courts have found the company broadly immune under federal law to liability for user-generated material.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
When the immune system encounters a threat, CD4 CTLs can make copies of themselves.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
Parton had canceled a planned Las Vegas engagement in May 2026, revealing that she was being treated for kidney stones as well as other undisclosed digestive and immune ailments.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Among the slipperiest of all is AIDS, which evolves new antigens even as it sits within an individual patient, thereby eventually overwhelming his or her immune system.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
