immune

American  

[ih-myoon] / ɪˈmjun /

adjective

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. exempt or protected.

   He thought being rich made him immune from punishment, but he went to jail for his crimes.

4. 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.

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noun

1. a person who is immune.

immune British  

/ ɪˈmjuːn /

adjective

1. protected against a specific disease by inoculation or as the result of innate or acquired resistance

2. relating to or conferring immunity See antibody

   an immune body

3. unsusceptible (to) or secure (against)

   immune to inflation

4. exempt from obligation, penalty, etc

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noun

1. an immune person or animal

Other Word Forms

• hyperimmune
  adjective
• nonimmune
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of immune

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin immūnis “exempt,” from im- im- ² + -mūnis ( see common)

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

immune

However, removing those immune cells did not eliminate the inflammation.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

"These immune cells unleash chemical warfare against a pathogen, and organisms have evolved an elegant way of protecting healthy cells at the same time."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

This unexpected behavior suggested that the 5-oxoETE pathway was doing something much more complicated than simply activating the immune system.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

Scientists have solved a biological mystery that remained unanswered for more than three decades, uncovering an unexpected way the immune system protects the body from its own inflammatory response.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

Those of us in the civil rights community are not immune to the racial stereotypes that pervade media imagery and political rhetoric; nor do we operate outside of the political context.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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Related Words

• exempt
• resistant
• unaffected

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